City of Stars: LA LA LAND Trailer

They have that saying: “They don’t make ’em like they used to”. That phrase could almost exclusively be applied to movie musicals.

While the genre has undergone a major renaissance in the new century, there seems to be a lot less risk-taking with what gets unleashed. Everything we get is a known quantity…a hit property. Seldom do we get something new, something that hasn’t already been battle-tested on Broadway.

So on the odd occasion that such things do arrive, perhaps we who enjoy such things owe it to the filmmakers to support the effort and take it in during its brief theatrical run. After all, if we don’t, we won’t get any more magic like we see here when Ryan and Emma dance…and we’ll just have to sit on our hands and be patient for the adaptation of Hamilton that won’t arrive for another ten years.