La La Land
Family FavoritePG-13

La La Land

Here's to the fools who dream.

2016 • 129 min • Comedy · Drama · Romance

Synopsis

Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

Our family guide

Best from age 12
87
Movie Knight Score
18309 reviews
  • 89 Reviewers · 9 · 75%
  • 79 Audience · 18300 · 25%

An aspiring actress and a jazz musician fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. Their relationship is tested as their careers begin to take off, forcing them to make difficult choices about their future together and their individual ambitions. It's a colorful, music-filled story about balancing love and dreams.

Violence & peril
1/10
Language
2/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking
3/10
Romance & sensuality
2/10
Scary moments
0/10

Heads up

  • Adult themes of ambition and sacrifice
  • Some passionate kissing and implied intimacy
  • Characters drink alcohol in social settings

What it models well

  • Pursuing your dreams
  • Hard work and dedication
  • Supporting loved ones' goals
  • The beauty of jazz music

Talk about it after

  • The sacrifices made for artistic dreams
  • The bittersweet nature of choices
  • What success truly means
  • The importance of compromise in relationships

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for La La Land. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

Where to watch

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Top billed cast

Director: Damien Chazelle • Crew: Damien Chazelle

Trailers & clips

Official Trailer - Dolby Screening Event

Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone rehearsed every day for MONTHS

Emma Stone as 'Mia' (La La Land) & 'Bella Baxter' (Poor Things) | Crafting Oscar-Winning Performance

'City of Stars' Scene

'A Lovely Night' Scene

"City Of Stars" from La La Land winning Best Original Song | 89th Oscars (2017)

Emma Stone wins Best Actress | 89th Oscars (2017)

Damien Chazelle wins Best Directing for "La La Land" | 89th Oscars (2017)

Reviewer notes

Recommended

"Mia" (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress who juggles a coffee shop job with countless, fruitless, auditions. "Sebastian" is a budding jazz musician who falls a bit foul of his boss (JK Simmons) when he decides to spice up some of the more mundane Christmas ditties he has to trot out on his restaurant piano and gets fired.…

Recommended

La La Land is one of those movies that feels like a warm hug. The story follows Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a jazz musician, as they navigate love, ambition, and the messy balancing act between the two. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are great together, their chemistry felt natural. The music is where the film really shines.…

Recommended

A fully-fledged musical of the likes we haven't seen on the big screen in decades. This move is almost perfect in every respect. It will draw a laugh, it will draw a tear and it will definitely get your foot tapping. I have to admit the reality ending crushed my enjoyment a little. I understand why the director did it but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Recommended

**Really a good movie, which justifies the hype around it.** Who doesn't remember “La La Land”? It was released in theaters in 2016, and was one of the most viewed and acclaimed films of that year. It was a film that was virtually carried in the lap between festivals and awards of the seventh art, and that seemed destined to clean them all up, as “Titanic” had done two decades before.…

Recommended

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/beautiful-dreamer-la-la-landnbspreview<a> Los Angeles is an easy city to deeply love and deeply hate, and it is impossible to describe that to someone who has never lived there. The closest a non-resident can come to gaining an understanding of that sensation is by watching Damien Chazelle’s _La La Land_.…

Recommended

Undeniably well put together, and entertaining, even if it certainly chooses style over substance. <em>'La La Land'</em> is an absolutely gorgeous-looking film, from the costumes to the cinematography to the choreography. The musical numbers are pleasant too. It is a little light on story, not that it isn't entertaining - it is. They were, evidently to me, going for an artsy film and they nailed that.…

Recommended

**They'd crossed each others life while chasing their dreams.** I am not a big fan of modern musical films. So I was not expecting it to be a great or worst. The film opened with a song that I was not happy, because I did not like the verse or the music. And again to say, the modern timeline does not suit for the musical theme, unless it is a fantasy or an Indian film.…

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

This is definitely not a movie that I would have chosen to watch all by myself which perhaps explain why I thought it was just surprisingly okay to watch. However my girlfriend absolutely wanted to watch it so I got it. As it turned out my girlfriend had only gone by the number of Oscars and not really looked up what kind of movie it actually was so in the end I was enjoying the movie a lot more than she did.…

Not recommendedTrusted family reviewers

"To me, _La La Land_ is like religion. I see the appeal, and I would never take it away from anyone. But I would also never stand in line for it." - Jeff WInger, probably. _Final rating:★★½ - Not quite for me, but I definitely get the appeal._

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