I saw LaLa Land last night.

I am going to do my best with no spoilers here, but I have never done this before. All apologies if I do. Also, it is long and a tl;dr would go like; shouldn't like it, yet love it. Now questioning my existence, thanks Hollywood. So here it goes:

I saw this movie last night, alone. I am a 6'2", fat, middle American male that is a mechanic by trade. In all rights and in almost any universe, I should not love this movie. I'm not big on love stories, I'm not big on musicals, I rolled my eyes at the trailer, and thought it was typical Hollywood garbage with all the best picture talk for this movie over Hell or High Water.

Yet, I find myself rolling over and telling my girlfriend I love her forever and always because of this movie. Typing this trying not to cry at 5am because of the beauty I just witnessed. From the opening act, and that wonderfully shot opening number, it hooked me. As a jazz lover, Ryan Gosling's character was perfect. I will admit, I didn't care much for his singing, but the music that accompanied it moved me.

He plays that lovable loser that has a passion for jazz. All of what it is, it's history, it's players and it's music. With jazz as a backdrop for this movie, it had to be a musical. He is a down and out pianist with a dream of owning a club. He scrapes by with crappie gigs to make ends meet. However, these crappie gigs bring someone truly special in his life.

Emma Stone is gorgeous in this movie, from the first moment she meets Gosling's character. The looks she gives shows true love, and a discovery of a beauty she never discovered before. You feel her character's love of acting, and following her dreams. The whole movie, I was hoping she would be a success, and yet in the end was she?

This movie did a great job of showing how pure something like love can be. How a love for your dreams should never fade. How a love for your SO, if they are truly the match, should never fade. Yet, fear and insecurities grab us, we compromise out of a fear of failure and a false sense of comfort for settling for better pay and a steady pay check. That fear of not being able to be the provider we should be for those we love.

We settle in our choices of people we are in relationships with. Sure, we love them, but do we really love them. What if we never let go of that one that we let the trappings of life get away? This movie is making me look at my past relationships and wonder how they could have been different. The coulds and woulds of life just pouring into my brain and causing sleep to be so hard. Fuck, did I fail on my dreams? Why did I become a mechanic? Why didn't I pursue acting? What if I quit smoking pot in my early twenties when my girlfriend at the time asked me to? What if I would not have broken up with my first love?

...and I'm tearing up. For me, that's how great this movie is. Maybe it won't be (wasn't) for you, and hey that's perfectly fine. I'm just amazed that a movie in a genre that is not one I typically watch has moved me more than I thought possible. A story that is compelling me to spill my thoughts to however many strangers read this dribble. This movie exemplifies why I love movies. The surprise of emotions caused by a great story never gets old. Best picture? Yeah, it needs to be in the conversation.

Thanks for reading.

Submitted December 29, 2016 at 07:22PM by hondas_r_slow http://ift.tt/2hvTTn6