FWIW, I don't think Gosling and Stone's (relative lack of) song/dance capabilities hinder the film in any way. If you're expecting Broadway-type songs and Astaire/Rogers-type numbers... yeah, you'll be disappointed. So, you know, don't expect that. The film is far from perfect, but I'm getting annoyed at the complains that it isn't a "real musical".
I don't think anyone here is saying it isn't a real musical? It's just that some of the reviews make it seem like it's gonna be akin to the best musicals of all time, eg. Dargis's review in the NYT is entitled "‘
La La Land’ Makes Musicals Matter Again." She compares it to classic musicals, indicating the film is, finally, a return to that specific form: "
I realized that this must have been what it was like to watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers during the Great Depression." (Pics of classic musicals and Cyd Charisse, Fred Astaire, etc. are included throughout the piece.) And she makes even stronger direct comparisons: "
In classic style, Mia and Sebastian somehow, amazingly, know how to dance together — they shadow each other in sync — without holding each other. As in the gazebo scene in “Top Hat,” which brings Astaire and Rogers’s characters closer and closer, the park dance in “La La Land” turns flirting into a performance, complete with a little tapping, a little twirling and several neatly executed barrel turns from Mr. Gosling."
It's lovely that Dargis enjoyed it so much. I hope I do, too. I just can't believe I'll think it's as good as watching Astaire and Ginger, like she seems to.