With days away till Sunday when the 84th Annual Academy Awards AKA the Oscars hit, we continue with our Oscar special and today we're focusing on the Best Picture nominee La La Land, which has a record 13 other nominations.
Will it be the new Titanic come Oscar night or another American Hustle that was nominated for 10 Oscars and didn’t even win a single thing? Let’s dig in...
Every year there’s that one movie that gets hyped, sometimes the hype is legit as in the Return of the King, No Country for Old Men, Little Miss Sunshine and then sometimes, like American Crime, Chicago and even Driving Mrs Daisy, history is like what were we all drinking!?
So this year's hype movie is La La Land, it’s the dancing, singing musical that is all about showbizz, love and nostalgia. Hollywood loves musicals.
Both leads are up for Oscars, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, and their singing is infectious. I have found myself singing City of the Stars on more than one occasion. They have chemistry but does Ryan Gosling, whom I loved in Drive and Half Nelson, pull off an Oscar worthy performance that beats that of Denzel or Casey or even that of Viggo Mortessen in Captain Fantastic?…. mmmh I say no.
Yes, he plays the piano, he tap dances and does the im-talking-but-singing-thing but Dancer in the Dark had more than what we get here. I love Gosling but if he gets this, it will be a travesty and will just be Oscar hype in my not so humble opinion.
If you’ve been reading this, you know I’ve backed Viola Davis to take Best Actress for Fences, Emma Stone’s turn in Birdman for me showed her range more than La La Land and I don’t think she will win and if she does it will just be hype too.
As for the one award, I think La La land should get outside from Best Original soundtrack, it’s for Best Director. Damien Chazelle, the same guy who gave us last year's other jazz movie Whiplash, really worked on this production.
From the imaginative dance and singing sequences to the pacing, to giving the movie a style that makes it both nostalgic and a movie about the now. This is seen in how he plays with the idea of old school vs new school in the design, the clothing even story telling.
But Best Picture in the year of Moonlight, Fences, Arrival and Manchester by the Sea for me is a tough ask, unless hype wins out over logic like Rocky beating out Taxi Driver.
Generations after will be like... what the hell!? Yes, the movie is lovely, yes it kinda feels like Casablanca the musical, yes the choreography is great but is it as important as the four other nominees ive mentioned?
Is it ground breaking? Is it bringing something new to the genre? Is it saying something truly major about our times like the others? I say no. Will see come Sunday if hype wins out… this should be interesting.