I finally got to see La
la land starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Not that it was high on my
list of movies to see. In fact, from the mixed feedback I’ve heard it wasn’t even
on the list. But one of the ‘Gathering Girls’ found a copy at the library,
invited us over and there was no way I was going to miss an afternoon with my
posse of new friends. What a fun time we had. We got the two-cent tour of her
condo, ate sandwiches we each brought with us and watched the movie while doing our
share of cat-calling the action on the screen. Then we laughed and talked about silly
stuff like the “dress codes” for getting full body massages and yearly mole
checks---no underpants for the former, in case you’re wondering, but you get to
keep them on for the latter.
Back to La La Land:
I’m glad I saw the movie because I’ve got a better handle on why the film ran
away with the awards it did. The reviewer at The Guardian probably explained
its popularity the best: “For the millions of Americans who are depressed and
anxious about the state of the nation, La
La Land is a trifle that seems more substantial because of our desperate
need for distraction.” And I also agree with a review I found at Reel Talk
Online: “La La Land is fun and
cutesy, and made me leave the theater with a big, goofy smile on my face. But
there's one distinct difference between good movie musicals and great movie
musicals: with a great movie musical, you can strip all the song and dance
numbers from it and it can still be great. Because it has a great story, great
dialogue, pitch perfect performances.” La
La Land is short on dialogue and the story could be boiled down to one
sentence: A jazz pianist and aspiring actress fall in and out of love.
One of the Gathering Girls had already seen La La Land but she kept mum about what
was coming after the ‘turning point’ of the story other than to say, “We’ll all
need a piece of cake when the movie ends.” Yup, bring on the Pepperidge Farms chocolate fudge layer cake! We got
cheated out of a happy ending. And not a single song in the film will stand the
test of time like Gene Kelly’s “Singin’ in the Rain” did plus Ryan and Emmy couldn’t
match the singing and dance talent of Debby Reynolds and Gene Kelly. Ohmygod, I
was totally crushing on Gene Kelly when I was a kid. I saw all his movies, took
tap dancing classes because of him and Fred Astaire and I promised anyone who’d
listen that I was going to marry Gene when I grew up. Jean and Gene. I did briefly
date a guy named Gene and I think we both tried to like each other because of
the twin names thing. If we had stayed together we probably would have been one
of those goofy couple who wears matching, argyle sweater vests. (If digression was a martial art I'd be a grandmaster.)
That was Saturday then Monday came along with its scheduled
monthly brunch with the Gathering Girls and I worried that we’d run out of
things to talk about, seeing each other so close together but we didn’t. After
eating, two of us headed to the movie theater to see Baywatch starring Dwayne Johnson. The New York Times reviewer said:
“Baywatch is sleazy and wholesome,
silly and earnest, dumb as a box of sand and slyly self-aware. It’s soft-serve
ice cream. Crinkle-cut fries. A hot car and a skin rash. Tacky and phony and
nasty and also kind of fun.” What a bunch of contradictory words strung
together and I read them before seeing the movie. But you know what, the movie
was all those things as it spoofed the original TV series with lines like: “Why
does she always look like she’s running slow-mo?” “You see it too? She’s the
reason I believe in God.” I remember watching an episode of Baywatch on TV in the early ‘90s with three-four
guys in the room and they were hooting and howling about the slow-motion running
of Pamela Anderson. This time, the slow-mo running and other nods to the original
series had us laughing like little kids at an amusement park.
As cheesy as Baywatch
was and as disjointed as La La Land was
I hope Hollywood makes more of these fluff-stuffed films as a counter-balance
to all the stressful things going on around the world and in Washington, D.C. A
few hours of escapism with some gal pals who love to laugh as much as I do was
just what I needed. Before the mini movie marathon I was starting to feel
overwhelmed by this, that and the other thing, but I’m recharged now.
“Here's to the ones who dream, Foolish as they may seem, Here's to the hearts that ache, Here’s to the mess we make.” That’s the chorus of a song Emma Stone sang in La La Land. But don’t waste your time trying to figure out why I thought that it’s a proper ending to this blog entry. I just knew the minute I heard it that I loved it enough to find a way to work it in my next writing session. ©
“Here's to the ones who dream, Foolish as they may seem, Here's to the hearts that ache, Here’s to the mess we make.” That’s the chorus of a song Emma Stone sang in La La Land. But don’t waste your time trying to figure out why I thought that it’s a proper ending to this blog entry. I just knew the minute I heard it that I loved it enough to find a way to work it in my next writing session. ©
