Rachel Herkshop | Contributor
Featured image: La La Land was a commercial success at the box office, drawing in over $263 million worldwide. | Courtesy of HD Wallpapers
Here it is. The guilty pleasure you’ve been waiting for. Despite the rain, her makeup is perfect. The same hormones that cuddly kitten memes induce to your head when he says those three little, yet big, words: “I love you.” The music swells as he pulls her into his arms and they share a passionate, but tasteful, kiss. After all, this movie is rated PG-13. Those of you who have seen the cinematic masterpieces of 27 Dresses or Pretty Woman know what was just described: the conclusion of a rom-com in all of its glory, with all of its formulae and clichés.
This is your cue to say: “What clichés?” Rom-coms are not formulaic. Well, the internet would argue otherwise. The wise Wikipedia describes the plot summary for rom-coms as “two characters meet, part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two leads meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union.” Feel free to think of a single commercial rom-com that does not fit with one of these descriptions.
Rom-coms can be a guilty—or proud—pleasure, but they’re often all the same. Give us two attractive leads who hate each other, yet ultimately fall in love, and we will eat it right up. But why is this so? Why do we keep coming back?
“It comes down to a culture based in fantasy fulfillment and desire. Humans enjoy having stories that fulfill romantic and passionate desires,” says film student Anthony Moss.
Let’s talk about the most recent and surprisingly successful rom-com, La La Land. The musical film casts Emma Stone as Mia and Ryan Gosling as Sebastian, an unlikely duo whose relationship develops over a series of encounters. This film has the same rom-com tropes but, apparently, if one slaps on less-than-mediocre musical numbers, star power and a bittersweet ending, it becomes Oscar-worthy. The movie, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, has numerous flaws, which Moss directly connects to La La Land being both a musical and a rom-com.
“La La Land stands in a weird state of flux. It exists as this modern musical, but it doesn’t have that many musical sequences, and as a romantic film, the relationship isn’t explored that fully,” says Moss.
It’s true, there are musical numbers scattered throughout the film. But as fellow film student Zach Gladstone observes, there was only one unique song, while the rest of the songs sounded strikingly similar. Despite Stone’s incredible acting ability, her vocal performance was noticeably weak, a weakness matched by both her co-star Gosling and by multiple singers throughout the film. The only strong vocal performance is that of John Legend, but one single satisfying vocal performance in a musical is not enough.
Much of Sebastian and Mia’s relationship is skimmed over. The audience experiences whiplash as they are thrown from their first meeting, to them falling in love, then straight into their obstacles as a couple until, of course, they succumb to the inevitable melodrama of the genre and separate. Their weak and uncompelling relationship makes the film a failure as far as the genre of the rom-com is concerned.
Considering La La Land’s mediocre musical score, its formulaic rom-com structure and weak vocal performances, how does one explain its multiple award nominations? Is it the film’s inversion of the fantasy fulfillment that makes its audience think that the movie is more than it seems? Or is it the contrary, by breaking the conventional happily-ever-after mould, it is able to express value changes in our culture of the jaded understanding that life can move in new directions even though one has found their true love? Or maybe is it because the film disrupts the comforting myth of true love’s ability to overcome all obstacles? Or perhaps the secret to the film’s success lies in the supposed powerful acting performances displayed by both Stone and Gosling?
Perhaps it is none of these reasons. Perhaps it is all of these reasons. Perhaps the greatest pity is that, for most people—who have never seen the grand Hollywood musicals of the 50s and 60s like The Music Man, My Fair Lady or West Side Story—this tepid production will dissuade them from ever discovering the true wonders of the musical genre.
Ultimately, all a critical audience member can do is sit back, enjoy the ride and hope that the success of this film will be the catalyst for an increase in the production of both musicals and rom-coms.
Pretty Woman the Musical, anyone?
