The movie musical is in a strange place right now. Outside of Disney, it is rare to see a film centered around singing and dancing become successful or mainstream. “Chicago” in 2002 and “Les Miserables” in 2012 are two that come to mind. There have been more, as the genre has been experiencing a bit of a resurgence, but it’s still relatively rare to see a successful, old-school “Hollywood” musical in the style of “The Sound of Music” or “Singin’ In the Rain.”

However, a little film by the name of “La La Land”  is attempting to change that. It’s a love story between a jazz musician and an aspiring actress, set in the middle of modern-day Los Angeles.

The film, which was released to the public on December 9, 2016, has garnered buzz as a potential Best Picture winner at the Oscars – as well as winning every award it was nominated for at the Golden Globes, setting a record for seven Globe wins.

Given all of this acclaim for the film and my love of “Oscar pick” movies, I had to see the film for myself and see what all the hype was about. Was it justified? Was the movie really as wonderful as I’d been lead to believe?

The short answer is yes. “La La Land” blew me away. This is due to a couple reasons, the first being the lead actor and actress. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, despite not being experienced musical actors/actresses, sing and dance their hearts out. Both of their performances are very easy to fall in love with.

The music and dancing was, as expected, phenomenal. I was especially a fan of their numbers “City of Stars” and “A Lovely Night.” Of course there is more to love, such as the opening number (which takes place on an L.A. freeway) and several of Stone’s solo numbers. However, I preferred “Stars” and “Night” because they accentuated something else that I loved about the film: the way it looked.

The use of color and surroundings in the film is brilliant. If the film is happy, it looks happy – with plenty of bright reds and yellows. If it is sad, hazy neons are contrasted with the lonely L.A. night to accentuate that lonely, empty feeling.

“La La Land” hits all the right notes. It’s funny, cute, sad and a million other things all at once while still maintaining a solid identity. It’s a great love story, and an inspiring film that praises those who dream. For me, it absolutely lived up to the hype, and I recommend that you go see it so that you can understand why.