La La Land- Page 2

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 8:53am

The movie thinks it is about breathing new life into established art forms (jazz, music, cinema) but it is actually about making damn sure that nothing interesting happens as a result.  The movie is a cheesy knockoff of THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, and Chazelle should be flogged at Jacques Demy's grave.

At least, on Broadway, there's a likelihood that the cast will actually have a vague idea of how to sing and dance.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 10:03am

I think a lot of the movie’s bad reputation comes from how overhyped it was in the awards circuit. It’s a slight story with a small scope, despite having elements of big, splashy movie musicals of yore (mostly in the first half hour and the final 10 or so minutes). I enjoy it for what it is, but many of its elements leave a bad taste in the mouth (the White Savior complex, the lack of faith in the initial musical framing, its posturing as a re-evaluation of the movie musical, etc.), so I can see why it’s being met with skepticism.

That being said, there’s no reason to believe much of that won’t be fixed in its translation to the stage - including casting genuine triple threats in the leads and writing some more songs. Plus, I think that score will sound pretty damn thrilling live. The whole finale sequence is one of my all-time favorite movie moments.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 10:32am

That opening song is so bad and how they got a bunch of extras who can't sing is beyond me. The show is a kind of bore. I'm not sure it'll really transfer to the stage.

[James885]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 10:50am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "One of the "criticisms" of the film was that it took a very white perspective on jazz...so it'll be interesting to see if that remains the same, or if the character's race is changed for the stage adaptation.

This was probably my biggest gripe with the movie. The film spins a very white savior-y narrative when it comes to jazz music, placing Ryan Gosling's character as someone who's trying to 'save' jazz music in Los Angeles. The scene where he explains jazz to John Legend's character (who's a jazz fusion musician) and basically calls Legend a sell-out is particularly galling, considering that jazz was created by black people.

Aside from that, I was underwhelmed by the film after the opening number, so will take a pass on this if it ever reaches fruition.

 

Updated On: 2/8/23 at 10:50 AM

[Up In One]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 12:47pm

Really disliked this movie, especially because it was attempting to be a musical, that said, the director is a very thoughtful and creative guy so there’s hope he will turn it into something interesting vs a slavish Moulin R take

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/8/23 at 12:56pm

James885 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "One of the "criticisms" of the film was that it took a very white perspective on jazz...so it'll be interesting to see if that remains the same, or if the character's race is changed for the stage adaptation.

This was probably my biggest gripe with the movie. The film spins a very white savior-y narrative when it comes to jazz music, placing Ryan Gosling's character as someone who's trying to 'save' jazz music in Los Angeles. The scene where he explains jazz to John Legend's character (who's a jazz fusion musician) and basically calls Legend a sell-out is particularly galling, considering that jazz was created by black people.

Aside from that, I was underwhelmed by the film after the opening number, so will take a pass on this if it ever reaches fruition.

"

To me, the racial elements are entirely intentional. Gosling isn’t a racist, he’s just a myopic hipster whose blinkers are fixed on French New Wave aesthetics and a specific moment in Eurocentric jazz history. He’s gifted, he’s a genius, but he’s also a relic. And so he’s unable to see that jazz has moved on and grown beyond Michel Legrand.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/17/24 at 9:00am

Until now – Sher gave us a small an insight into the current state of proceedings, confirming the show is very much still in development: “I am still working on La La Land. We are working with producer Marc Platt, who is also the producer of Wicked, so it’s the same group.”

He continued: “We’re in the middle of workshops and trying to find a theatrical language for this amazing film. So we’re in the middle of that right now, and when I’m done with this [Kiss Me, Kate], I go back to New York for some more workshops.”
 

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/la-la-land-stage-musical-in-the-middle-of-workshops_1600957/

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 5/17/24 at 9:35am

Dull dull movie, except the first number. I'll be fine if it's in development land for a long time