What brings La La Land & The Greatest Showman together in comparison is the fact that both movies had the same amazing songwriters.Last year I was intrigued in “La La Land” from the promotional material but they fell flat on the musical aspect. “La La Land” had songs, yes, but the movie seemed to forget it was a musical after the first 45 minutes. Honestly, I would pick a film that entices me to see it over and over again than some overrated flick where two attractive people danced to show us how aesthetic they looked in doing so. Here's why:
First of all, The Greatest Showman is an ACTUAL musical.
A musical, by definition, is a play or motion picture in which the story is interspersed with or developed by songs, dances, and the like. It's not like the 2007 remake of Hairspray where you only got less than five minutes of actual dialogue in between songs.The great musicals are the ones you walk out and you can't stop humming the tune. When done right, they help tell the story in addition to being fun to watch, and this is where La La Land fails and The Greatest Showman excels.
At no point in La La Land do either of the leads ever sing about what it is they really want. The Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone duet number, "A Lovely Night", is the only song that the film requires to keep a coherent story. This is a classic musical element that's necessary if you're going to connect with your main character that's missing entirely from a movie that claims to be a musical.
Oh. My. Plot
The movie is loosely based on P.T. Barnum, keyword: loosely, but it's difficult to find the right story to fit a movie musical. The narrative indulged with the magic of nostalgia and yearning puts a song stuck in the brain as the end credits roll. The musical numbers are upbeat with fantastic performances and visuals in a manner that they carry the movie to be a fun experience.
This series of intoxicating storylines that entangle together make a plot from the self-empowerment of outcasts to the emotional appeal of love that layers out to the ultimate goals of inclusion & acceptance. Far more flawed and passionate in their talent to live beyond their means by expressing themselves through songs and dance.This Is Me shows their revelation of newfound hope in themselves. The characters are far less immaculate than actress Emma Stone and actor Ryan Gosling.
Can we talk about this gorgeous couple though?
They're not gorgeous because of their physical attractiveness but by the journey that they take which many other interracial couples face. Keep in mind that this setting for this film is in 1860's when slavery was just abolished so people of color were heavily looked down on. It's forbidden love between Zac Efron and Zendaya and their musical number sung and danced on trapeze bars, is simply captivating. What really needs to get across is that blond heartthrobs & ginger foxes aren't the only beautiful pairing to fall in love. On top of all that, at least the couple we're rooting for actually end up together here.
The ending, it's beautiful.
I see La La Land's ending the same way as Titanic; you cannot let someone go that easy when you really love them. They could have at least kept in touch while they were getting their careers together. Although The Greatest Showman leans towards spectacle where La La Land chooses intimacy, audiences will connect to its outcasts and the visionary who brought them out of the shadows and in front of a crowd.
I was not that big of a fan of “La La Land.” It had its moments but wasn’t a cohesive film. If this isn't enough, think about how many times you went to see each movie. Which one is worth seeing more than once as a whole? What songs are infectious? I don't know about you but The Greatest Showman is better than La La Land, period.
