La La Land - 4 smiles

On the surface, "La La Land" might seem like a fluffy little movie. However, there's a lot more going on: a love letter to old movie musicals, a tribute to various Los Angeles locations, a comment on the consequences of following your dreams. Plus it's writer-director Damien Chazelle's follow-up to his stunning 2014 feature debut, Whiplash. "La La Land" is probably one of the best musicals to reach theaters in a very long time. Chazelle has turned back the clock with the camera work, the color palette, the style - it's straight out of the 1950s. And stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone seem to be channeling Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The opening number is a prime example of complexity and long takes - it opens on the 105/110 interchange, where drivers exit their cars and use singing and dancing as an antidote to impatience and road rage.( Other settings include the Hermosa Beach pier, the Watts Towers, the Colorado Street Bridge, Grand Central Market, Griffith Observatory and Angel's Flight.) The setting is modern day, but the feel is old-fashioned, which is enhanced by Chazelle's use of primary colors.

The two central characters, Mia (Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling) are stuck in that traffic jam and their screwball first meeting consists of his loudly honking horn and her flipping him the bird. They continue to run into each other over the next few weeks around town. Mia is a would-be actress who works in a corner coffee cafe on the Warner Bros. lot. Sebastian is a jazz pianist who's fired from his gig at a restaurant when he refuses to limit his playlist to Christmas tunes. Mia and Sebastian are both independent-minded, stubborn, goal-oriented people whose idealism about their art is in conflict with their desire to succeed at it. Nonetheless, they fall in love and the rest of the movie chronicles their journey to achieve their goals. Chazelle requires tremendous range from his leads and Stone and Gosling are up to the challenge. They have to sing and dance (which they do well enough) and have to be able to handle drama and comedy. More importantly, there has to be chemistry and Stone and Gosling really light up the screen. All of the musical numbers are well-produced and masterfully choreographed and the songs are not only entertaining but memorable. (The soundtrack should do well.) And the final 15 minutes of the movie are not to be missed as Chazelle combines flashbacks, flashforwards, dream sequences and multiple musical reprises into a dazzling time-spanning montage. It's in this finale that Chazelle's skill as a director is so evident. "La La Land" is not to be missed.