I need to see it again. I comprehensively hated it on first viewing. And that was on a date, FFS, so I had no excuse not to be in the zone.

Saving Jazz from black people....that's my understanding.

It losing to a movie about a gay black young man was beyond perfect.

I screened that move about a month ago - most of my guests liked the movie but I thought it was a bit unsettling. For some odd reason I kept expecting the story line to turn into a "Requiem for a Dream" like scenario for the main characters.

One positive aspect of the movie was the visual and sound quality of the production. The wide aspect ratio (allows me to use my full screen (constant height configuration) and very good use of surround sound greatly enhanced that movie.

I later re-watched reviewed the movie on a television with a small 7.1 surround system and was not impressed.

Later I decided to listen without the projector and found the movie much more enjoyable until near the end of the movie; the bar scene when the camera moves through the bar changing the location of where the live band was so the location of the band and crowd with the surround sound you were spinning around the room. This actually made me a bit sea-sick as it felt like the room was moving while I sat still.

That's the beauty of art ... not all of us need to 'get it.' Saw La La Land the first week it came out, and was completely blown away. I've rented it three times since. As a fan of the great Hollywood musicals, I found Justin Hurwitz's take on mid-20th century show tunes fabulous. Fresh, yet nostalgic ... a contemporary reinvention of a form from a bygone era. The tunes haunt me still.

A 'pair of narcissists' is not exactly a fair characterization, is it? I mean, how many narcissists have you known who genuinely want success for their partner, as both of the main characters (Seb and Mia) did? And how many relationships never launch due to conflicting plans, goals or dreams? And honestly, wasn't Emma Stone incredible? That audition scene (Here's to the Ones Who Dream) was a showstopper! C'mon dude, where's your heart?

Sometimes you just don't get things. I missed the first half of the movie (on HBO) the first time I saw it & I was not real impressed but I was a little confused, so I saw it again and I fell in love with the characters, the music and the song & dance scenes. More surprising is that my husband, who usually prefers action movies and the like also fell in love with it.

Fuck knows

I don't get musicals, period!

I agree. I saw it because of the hype and hated it. Then it won the Academy Award!

I wanted to like it. I love a Romcom and I love who's in it. I didn't make it past the twenty minute mark. Re-watching "Crazy, Stupid Love" would a better use of the time.

Wow, I'm saddened at how few of ya'll don't get it! This may be a generational thing (I'm a Millenial, FYI)... I won't go into that though.

I can't exactly tell you why it's so popular, but I can tell you why I like it, and what's helped me to understand it.

The story is about two people pursuing their dreams. The key to understanding the movie is the chorus from Mia's (Emma Stone) Audition song:

"Here's to the ones who dream
Foolish as they may seem
Here's to the hearts that ache
Here's to the mess we make"

"The ones who dream"

First thing we see of Mia is her struggling to realize her dream of acting. Then, we see Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) pining to play old-school jazz and open a jazz bar of his own.

These are their dreams...

"Foolish as they may seem"

Is her dream of being an actress a bit silly? Yeah. She goes to auditions with coffee stains! Was her little one-woman play foolish? VERY. Basically no one shows up.

Was his bar thing foolish? Yes. His own sister mocks him for it! Is his classic jazz fetish a bit ridiculous? Yep. Keith (John Legend) knocks Sebastian down a peg for not changing with the times.

(Side note: You stated "The moral is that the old school jazz they play in elevators and sleazy nostalgic bars is as far as music should have ever progressed." Not at all! Did you even listen to what Keith said to Sebastian? "How are you gonna be a revolutionary if you're such a traditionalist? You hold onto the past, but jazz is about the future." )

But...

"Hearts that ache"

We people also arn't very good at consciously choosing the people we love, nor the things that we treasure, nor the dreams that we dream. Is it really their fault for loving these things? It's who they are, even if it's a bit silly, and even less, probable to realize.

It's a deeply nostalgic film. From the Jazz, to the tap dancing, to the old cars, we Millennials look back at the great things which have been passed down to us with reverence and admiration in a sense. For these two particular characters their dreams fall right into classic cinema. Watch The Artist for a different take on this sense of nostalgia. And in neither of these films do we have professional Broadway actor/singer/dancers; that kind of virtuoso talent just doesn't exist today.

Yet, realizing worthwhile dreams is never quick, easy, or doable alone...

"Mess we make"

There's no denying that their relationship is a messy one. Are they narcissistic? Yeah, kind of. Sebastian especially is a bit of a jerk. The romance dies between the two because they couldn't get along on a basic personal level. But it's just not meant to last by any stretch of the imagination.

Mostly, though, they were in each others' lives to help each other realize their individual dreams. They bond initially over their joy of sharing their personal dreams with each other. They never made each other their dreams—just friends along the path to realizing the dream who happened to get close enough to have a little romance. So, it's fitting they didn't stay together—in fact good!

I think one of the things about this film that makes it so distinct from the musicals of classic cinema is that it flips the idea that the only way that a couple is successful is if the two stay together. Instead, we see these two are a deeply successful couple because they both were pivotal in helping each other realize their own individual dreams. This film is revolutionary because it redefines what it means to have a successful romantic partnership from a life of bliss together to having a role of building each other's lives into something greater, which is a fantastic lesson.

That final ten minute montage of what may have been if the two of their lives were perfectly together is there to show that the old ideal is but a fantasy. The true reality is two people working together for each other's interests for as long as it is a good thing.

Thus, the film applauds both in it's themes and in overarching plot the crazy process of realizing dreams.

I'm no help, I went with friends to see it, stayed for the whole thing and was pissed at the end. Dream sequences stink.

This is movie that people seem to like or don't like, no inbetween. The opinions are polarized. Which happens. Personally I liked it.

I give up, why?

I tried to watch it, gave up after 5 minutes. To anwser your question, I don't know!

Besides the flying dance scene, the movie was good. The music was the best part. It's no Whiplash, but definitely in the same light.

I tried watching it twice, I never got past the first 15 minutes, I do like looking at Ryan Gosling but the singing was all abit much.

I have no idea! It's terrible. I don't think I've made it all the way through one time?

It's that painful to me.

I don't know... I never saw the movie. I reckon you need to define "popular".

Not a clue. I haven't watched it.