La La Land: How a Musical Became My Most Anticipated Film

I hate musicals.

Ever since I can remember, musicals have always rubbed me the wrong way. I always had a problem with the way people magically break into song in the middle of a film with full instrumental backing and meticulously choreographed dance ensembles.

I hated it.

Flying superheroes, alien invasions and one man armies butchering thousands I can buy. Musical numbers in films? Utter MADNESS!!!

But then something interesting happened. I saw this:

The music…the lyrics…the fun tone mixed with a beautiful melancholy. It hit all the right notes and I was intrigued. I had heard of La La Land, but being the musical hater I was, I never really gave it a second thought.

Admittedly, the trailer hit at just the right time. I didn’t see it when it first came out, but seeing it when I did, when I was deciding to pursue my writing more seriously.

When Ryan Gosling croons, “Is this the start of something wonderful and new or one more dream that I cannot make true,” it hit me hard in the best way possible. That one line perfectly captured how I was feeling at that moment.

Pursuing your dream can lead to amazing highs. Any small successes can lead to greater possibilities. But with that, there can be a crippling fear. What if you’re not nearly as good as you think you are? Everyone has felt this way at some point, not just the crazy dreamers like me.

And the next trailer…

If the “City of Stars” trailer hooked me, then this one reeled me in. Looking closely, you can see that it reuses most of the same footage from the previous trailer…not unusual, but subtle changes made all the difference.

In the previous trailer, Ryan Gosling was billed first. In this one, Emma Stone gets top billing. It was told from her perspective, showing that La La Land wouldn’t be your normal love story. This would be a film about two people in love and the chaos that came with it.

And that song. Wow.

Stone’s voice had a vulnerability to it, matching the bittersweet tone of the song and the accompanying imagery. I started listening to the minute and a half clip over and over.

The song was amazing, but once again, the song and trailer hit at an apt time. In addition to some personal issues, things were stalling in my professional life and I was beginning to see my dreams as foolish. Listening to that song broke my heart and I loved it.

Most importantly, the trailer showed just how different a musical La La Land could be. Bittersweet is a favorite tone of mine and many of my favorite films have it.

The latest trailer was an almost complete turn around in tone from the previous ones, but it didn’t turn me off to the film. It’s an incredibly fun look at Gosling and Stone’s relationship, letting them actually speak and show off that chemistry we have seen in previous films.

It also continued the tribute to classic Hollywood with more glimpses of huge dance numbers and imaginative set pieces. The music was great as well, though the lyrics were a little hard to make out. You know us writers, we love our words.

Ultimately, all of these trailers succeed because they give just enough information to hook the audience. Once again, this trailer reused footage while sprinkling just enough new footage to entice. None of the trailers give away story details other than the romance and that excited me more than anything else.

If you would have told me that La La Land would have been my most anticipated films of the year, I might have slapped you, locked myself in my room and blasted heavy metal until I felt like a hulking dude bro again. But a very personal and emotional reaction to the trailers made me fall for the possible tone of the film.

Film works best when you get a visceral reaction to it. Whether you laugh, cry, or shout in anger the best ones will stick with you. If the trailers are any indication, I might be an emotional mess at La La Land.

So a good time all around!

 

 

 

 

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