This post will be a bit different than my others. Today, rather than talk about a specific genre of dance or a specific dancer, I’m going to address something that has been bothering me since I went with family to go see it: La La Land with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely many aspects I enjoyed. The costumes were gorgeous. The dresses were bright and colorful and flowed very well during the dance numbers.
The choreography itself was also great. I really enjoyed the opening dance number. It was fun and exciting, people were dancing on their cars. It was an enjoyable thing to watch. I enjoyed the storyline as well. The story of two struggling artists who do what it takes to make it in Hollywood, even if it means making sacrifices, is one that few have experienced but many have aspired to.
I do, however, have many complaints. First of all, and the most shallow reasoning, I didn’t like the ending. I won’t spoil it, but it was very disappointing. The sacrifices made were realistic and reflected sacrifices many people have to make in order to be successful in Hollywood, but that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t like it. I’m a romantic, what can I say? I had a certain ending in mind when I started watching the movie, and when that ending didn’t happen, I was disappointed.
My other complaint, and the one that is the main focus of this post, is that neither of the main characters can really sing or dance. This movie was clearly a musical, and I feel that people who can sing and dance should have been casted in the lead roles. There are plenty of talented performers that would have killed for an opportunity to perform in a movie like this. Instead, they casted big names in Hollywood that they knew would draw in larger audiences, rather than choosing talented performers that would make it a musical that would go down in history. Essentially, they chose looks over talent, a trend that seems to becoming more and more apparent in modern Hollywood.
The dances featuring the main characters were always simple. Why? Because they don’t actually know how to dance. They’re actors. Not singers, not dancers; and to anyone that has any background in the arts, it really showed.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m judging it too harshly. Is comparing movie musicals to Broadway musicals even fair? Each has their own advantages, such as the endless possibilities for set locations in movies, whereas Broadway musicals typically have (in my opinion) more talented performers and can be longer because of intermission. I just couldn’t help being surprised when I came out of the movie and my family couldn’t express how much they loved it, whereas I found it somewhat tedious to watch.
I am just blown away that with all the talented theater performers who have been trained in singing, dancing, and acting, that they chose main characters who only had background in acting. I was disappointed. I’m sorry that this was just a rant, but this is just something that’s been on my mind.