Simply from watching the trailer of La La Land, this movie comes across as a cheesy musical where the characters all burst into song every few minutes, the whole town joins, and everyone knows the words to whatever song and dance. So as I sat down in the theater, I prepared myself for another lovey-dovey musical.

But as the movie progressed, I found there is more to like than a few love songs. First of all is the colors in this movies. From start to finish, the outfits, settings, and lighting was heavily analyzed to produce just what they wanted. Many times during the movie, the lights dim as a spotlight falls on a character as they sing, dance, or play an instrument. This choice makes you zero into their talent, and breathe in awe of each note or movement.

Then there is the soundtrack. Mia, played by Emma Stone, and Seb or Sebastian played by Ryan Gosling, were an excellent choice for this musical. While their voices aren’t as polished because they aren’t known for singing, the realness of their voices makes you want to sing along. If you were listening to Adele or Justin Timberlake, you would want to erupt into song, but you would know you will never be able to hit the note the way they did. With Emma and Ryan’s voices, you get the feeling you too can actually sing.

The ending is then the icing on the cake. While many movies play out something similar to La La Land, love, heartbreak, excitement, music, this movie takes those elements and uses them almost against their audience. We are used to boy meets girl, love trumps all, kind of stories but La La Land doesn’t give you that happy ending. It shows you reality, that two people don’t always end up together, even if they are “meant to be.”

This self-aware, heartbreaking and downright loveable film is the ideal for anyone looking for a movie that doesn’t give you what you want, but gives you what you need.