La La Land wants to be Singing in the Rain, but tries too hard and comes off as indulgent to the detriment of the film. Everything feels like the 50's, but Stone has an Iphone (with a default ringtone even though she's mid-20's in California) and drives a Prius. Plot lines are dropped with no resolution or explanation and what plot points to happen are way too predicable and cliche. The only surprise is the ending, which is only a surprise because no one should have chosen that ending which is abrupt, confusing, unfulfilling, and wanky. There is no chemistry between Stone and Gosling and they were clearly cas based on star power and not their singing or dancing, which is a problem for a musical. The worst part is the overly boring cinematography. I normally only notice and pay attention to cinematography if it's impressive or unique, but La La Land's is monotonous to the point where you can almost guess the next shot. Even the editing is off with multiple scenes ending abruptly and jerking to a new one with no closure. The sets are a mixed bag, with some scenes that take place in a character's imagination (and are supposed to be surreal and obviously a set) are beautiful, but shots that could easily have been done on scene are done on a terrible set with an obvious green screen. This is a $30 million film, you can afford a real shot. I'm used to suspension of disbelief in Science Fiction and Fantasy, but this much should not be required for what essentially is a textbook drama. Characters have uncertain personalities and are consistently making unrealistic decisions. I know I've been ragging on La La Land, but there are a few things it deserves credit for. Although Gosling's acting isn't impressive, the amount of work he put into the role is astounding. Gosling wanted to really play all of the Jazz pieces in the film, so even though they had a "hand double" on set to do the songs, Gosling was dedicated enough to learn Jazz piano within the couple of months before filming and was good enough that they didn't need the "hand double". The musical pieces (which there were surprisingly few for a musical) were serviceable and gave the film some depth. Maybe I'm not the target audience, but for a film that won 7 Golden Globes and 6 Oscars, there really isn't anything special here: the story is cliche to the point where the average person knows almost exactly how everything plays out (minus that dumb ending) within the first 20 minutes, the cinematography is bland and uninspired, and even though it obviously takes place in current times, it is constantly forced back into the 50's.