In LaLa Land, Ryan Gosling Strives to Make Jazz Great Again
Let me start off by saying: I love Ryan Gosling. I have bought into his sex appeal, his boyish charm, his status as a feminist ally and his steadfast refusal to eat cereal hook, line and sinker. I even saw Gangster Squad in theaters because he was in it, and that shit was awful. Combine that with my love of musical theater, and I’m basically the target audience for LaLa Land — the movie musical starring Gosling and Emma Stone as two artists “struggling to make ends meet while pursuing their dreams in a city known for destroying hopes and breaking hearts.”
But as I sat in the theater on Christmas Day watching Sebastian (Gosling) and Mia (Stone) sing and dance their way through love and heartache in Hollywood, I couldn’t shake this conviction:
Ryan Gosling’s character is THE WORST.
This is not a critique of Gosling as a person. I’m sure all the good things I said about him above still apply. But damn, couldn’t he or the writers have brought a little bit more of that to this role?
To understand why Sebastian is THE WORST, you first have to accept that the love story in LaLa Land isn’t between Mia and Sebastian — it’s between Mia and Sebastian and their dreams of making it as an actor and jazz pianist, respectively (more on that later). Their relationship with their craft is tumultuous and inspiring — as evidenced by the beautiful, dreamy musical numbers throughout the film. If that doesn’t sound like love, what does? LaLa Land’s M.O. is subverting Old Hollywood tropes while simultaneously paying homage to them, and its take on a traditional love story is the best twist of all.
Unfortunately, through that lens, Sebastian’s character arc in the film quickly goes from leading lover to THE WORST in two major ways.
He’s the singular authority on a musical genre that famously has its roots in black oppression. The fact that Sebastian is a white jazz pianist isn’t in and of itself a big deal. His constant whining about how great jazz used to be, and how he’s the only one who can restore it to its former glory? Replace the word “jazz” with “America,” and Donald Trump would tweet that shit at 3 am.
Jazz and blues music sprung from the pain and oppression of black life, specifically Southern black life, as a way for communities to communicate. Its spread lead to some of the earliest cracks in the walls of racism built throughout this country because while white people could enjoy the music, it was still never explicitly for them (like Formation!).
Yet when Sebastian gives a monologue saying basically the exact same thing, I couldn’t tell if the movie was attempting to be self-aware, or if it really was that cringe-inducing-ly “colorblind” (not a compliment). He’s also always the only white person in a jazz club full of black people, rousing them to their feet and playing the white savior role to a T.
This is another example of white people trying to appropriate black culture without wanting to touch the “icky” aspects like police brutality, mass incarceration and de-facto school segregation.
Also, who the hell are you to tell JOHN LEGEND that he’s a sellout and his music is an abomination? Boy, bye.
He’s more “nice guy” than romantic partner. As it becomes increasingly clear that the relationship between Sebastian and Mia isn’t going to work out, Sebastian turns into the quintessential “nice guy” who thinks grand gestures — instead of communication, honesty and support — are the way to “win” back the girl. Instead of talking to Mia about professional conflicts, he vacillates wildly between yelling at her for her lack of success, then showing up at her parents’ house to wildly proclaim she’s a huge star because he sees it. He even laughs off Mia’s idea to call his future jazz club Seb’s; so when we learn at the end of the movie that he ultimately used her idea, it feels like a desperate callback to a woman who’s already moved on with her life.
Furthermore, LaLa Land ends with a musical montage that ponders the “what if” of Mia and Sebastian living happily ever after together. It’s romantic and ethereal and starts with a flashback where Sebastian grabs and kisses Mia, who at that point in the story was a stranger.
Uh, what?
The rest of the montage centers around him “getting” the girl and all that comes with it, ignoring the fact that, at the end of the movie, Mia seems pretty darn happy with how her life turned out. She has a career, a husband and a very cute kid. Does Sebastian really think, with one forlorn look across the smoky jazz club, that he will “earn” back a woman who has had her real love story come true? That’s not love; that’s thinking you’re owed something.
Because of its roots in classic Hollywood sparkle, LaLa Land isn’t the type of movie to ask its audience to question Sebastian’s less-than-savory character traits. Old Hollywood never questioned its leading men, so why start now? It’s not necessarily the film’s fault — LaLa Land is highly stylized for a reason — but not addressing Sebastian’s problematic behavior condones it by default.
Sorry feminism had to ruin another thing you love, but in LaLa Land, Ryan Gosling is kind of a dick. His character oozes privilege in his professional endeavors and personal relationships, tries to spin that privilege into the persona of the beautifully tortured artist and fails pretty badly. It’s enough to jolt me out of a movie that’s otherwise saccharine and pleasant enough.
If you want to focus on the high notes — pun somewhat intended — the cinematography in LaLa Land is beautiful, the group dance numbers are exhilarating and Emma Stone is quirky and genuine at the same time. With this balance in mind, LaLa Land is still potentially worth watching…when it inevitably comes out on HBO.
Or just re-watch The Notebook instead. Its message is much better!
(Oh God…)
