The production is slick. Supporting roles are strong -- casting John Legend as a musician takes money, I guess, but it's an easy 'win.' But making a musical requires leads who can sing and dance. Gosling can't sing at all well, and Emma Stone simply can't produce pleasant sounds. Neither can dance at all well, and in at least one scene Stone not only danced badly, but repeated her moves (a failed trick in Flashdance, and no better here). The movie lasts too long, given its weak themes, and then, when it could be stopped and the audience blessedly released, it generates an alternate ending (no visible reason for this dodge) that makes it another 20 minutes or so long. If I were at home I would have turned it off, but my significant other had a very large bucket of popcorn to finish, so I had to sit through it.