Or: Lady Eve Goes Gaga for La La Land
I stepped up to the ticket window at the Century Regency 6 on
a Wednesday morning earlier this month intending to purchase an early bird ticket to a film that
was in the last days of its run at the multiplex. But Fate would have it
otherwise; the movie had already begun 15 minutes ahead of schedule for some
logistical reason or another. When I asked if there was another film that
hadn’t started yet but would soon, I was told, “Well, La La Land is starting right now.” Ah, one of the other movies I
wanted to see. So I grabbed a ticket and hurried into the theater. The opening
scene, a splashy and jubilant musical number set on a present day traffic-jammed
L.A. freeway, was already in high gear. Taken by surprise at the hoopla onscreen, a near-over-the-top homage to a
film genre so very long gone and out of fashion, I wasn't sure whether I
was going to like this movie or not, but then...