Why 'La La Land' is exactly the movie we need right now

Do yourself a favor and go see La La Land when it comes to your city.

You don't need to be told that the world is a mess anymore -- the evidence is everywhere, from TV screens to social media and yes, out in the actual streets and where we live. For that, movies are an escape. Buying a ticket is an implicit agreement to two hours away from cable news and your Twitter feed, and La La Land is the perfect movie to run away to.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what works for La La Land, because it is so many things that do. It isn't the first movie musical, the first story of struggling artists, the first romanticized depiction of hustle in L.A. or even the first pairing of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. But there is a zeitgeist-crushing combination at work here, a carefully crafted cross-section of all the things that make great cinema all working together at any given moment in the film.

For me, La La Land harkened to the carefree joy of Indian Bollywood movies that I grew up with. Writing and acting (which La La Land executes deftly) weren't as important as pure, unbridled entertainment in those stories. They were a reminder that it's important to sing and dance and feel a little silly, to dream bigger than life would have you and spread that feeling around.

Music and musicals have always brought people together, but accessibility is a glaring divider. Even with maximum hype, many won't see Hamilton or Cursed Child or even go to the cities that host those works -- but a trip to the movies always has leveled the playing field a bit, if only for a few hours. Just look at the success of Disney's Moana or network television's live musicals.

As Hollywood dives into awards season, La La Land is every jury's kryptonite; It has promising young talent (including Damien Chazelle, the 31-year-old director), an old-school blend of different artistic disciplines, and it's about show business, which people in show biz love to see. Add in a puppy and that's the same formula that worked for The Artist in 2011.

Back then, it was hard to find someone who hated The Artist, yet its Best Picture win felt like cheating, like awards should go to what makes us think and hurt -- even if a the best endorsement for any piece of art is that it elevates awareness of your own existence.

There's a part of La La Land that launches into a fantasy sequence, a "what if" scenario for the characters if their lives had followed a different path. But after just a few moments, it doesn't feel like a fantasy; It feels so tangible and real that surely, in some universe, that is the reality playing out on the world's stage. Maybe that's the case for all our hypotheticals. Maybe there's a world just a song away from here where he didn't win the election, where innocent people weren't shot, where people you cared about didn't die.

La La Land is a visual and emotional masterpiece. It's buoyant and beautiful and you will leave the theater humming its irresistible music. As it picks up momentum, it's bound to have it's detractors, the way everything does as it gets "too mainstream." It's also part of an exceptional crop of prestige films this year, from Barry Jenkins' stirring Moonlight to the heart-wrenching true story of Lion, films that will undoubtedly face off with La La Land in a matchup that's like comparing apples to freaking kiwis.

But right now, it's the simplest joy you'll experience at the movies, and maybe outside it. So go see it, enjoy it, and don't feel guilty about unplugging and escaping for a couple hours. The world will be waiting when you get back.

La La Land is in theaters in NY and LA now and will open wide Dec. 16