2018’s A Star Is Born,
directed by Bradley Cooper.
Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliot, Andrew Dice
Clay, Dave Chapelle, Rafi Gavron, and Anthony Ramos.
What is it about?
Popular rock star Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper)’s best days
are likely behind him. Spending his days so under the influence that he is
barely able to stand, he cranks out rock concerts like Picasso churned out
paintings. Bombed after yet another show, Jackson dives into a dive bar, and
locks eyes with amateur musician, Ally (Lady Gaga). He’s instantly smitten, and
while they fall in love, he encourages her to start her own career in the music
business. As she becomes more popular, he continues to spiral into his
addictions, despite the aid of supports such as his brother, Bobby (Sam
Elliot), and friend, “Noodles” (Dave Chapelle). With Ally’s manager, Rez (Rafi
Gavron) unsympathetic to his cause and
her pleas for originality, will Jackson and Ally’s relationship last while
their careers diverge?
Why is it worth seeing?
A Star Is Born is
the 3rd remake of the 1937 film (all together now: 1954, 1976,
and 2018). Despite the well worn story (that has had its share of
permutations), there are a couple of firsts here. It’s star and cowriter Bradley
Cooper’s debut as a director, as well as costar Lady Gaga’s first leading role
as an actress. While it's not perfect, the end result is as galvanizing as it is
impressive.
Full disclosure- I always thought of Lady Gaga as Madonna 2.0. Can you blame me? She might have been born this way, but I saw a slickly assembled package of musical talent nearly obscured by gargantuan levels of production and social media savvy. But it was tough to say what she would be like as an leading role actress. Would the results be closer to say, Cher (who eventually won an Oscar), or Mariah Carey? It turns out to be much closer to the former, as Gaga’s breakout performance here BREAKS OUT. While paired with the equally charismatic Cooper, she more than holds her own and even ups him at some points. Her scene of the insecure but uber talented Ally breaking out of her stage fright to address a concert crowd and finish the song that Cooper’s character started will go down as 1 of the most popular scenes of the year- and it might not even be the most memorable one in the film.
With Cooper and Gaga humming on both cylinders, it makes for a can’t miss event that dares you to tear your eyes from the screen- there’s something just so elemental about movie stars showing you why they’re movie stars. And that’s before an appearance from a shockingly understated and potent Dave Chapelle (more please), and the ever reliable Sam Elliot. Cooper assembles all of this magnetism, and we are (thankfully) helpless to its pull. His direction is surprisingly confident, and with the aid of cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, they create an intoxicatingly comfortable experience that makes it look as easy as it is sexy. It sways, it rocks, it jukes- I’m in.
Full disclosure- I always thought of Lady Gaga as Madonna 2.0. Can you blame me? She might have been born this way, but I saw a slickly assembled package of musical talent nearly obscured by gargantuan levels of production and social media savvy. But it was tough to say what she would be like as an leading role actress. Would the results be closer to say, Cher (who eventually won an Oscar), or Mariah Carey? It turns out to be much closer to the former, as Gaga’s breakout performance here BREAKS OUT. While paired with the equally charismatic Cooper, she more than holds her own and even ups him at some points. Her scene of the insecure but uber talented Ally breaking out of her stage fright to address a concert crowd and finish the song that Cooper’s character started will go down as 1 of the most popular scenes of the year- and it might not even be the most memorable one in the film.
With Cooper and Gaga humming on both cylinders, it makes for a can’t miss event that dares you to tear your eyes from the screen- there’s something just so elemental about movie stars showing you why they’re movie stars. And that’s before an appearance from a shockingly understated and potent Dave Chapelle (more please), and the ever reliable Sam Elliot. Cooper assembles all of this magnetism, and we are (thankfully) helpless to its pull. His direction is surprisingly confident, and with the aid of cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, they create an intoxicatingly comfortable experience that makes it look as easy as it is sexy. It sways, it rocks, it jukes- I’m in.
Its charms out of the way, after an addictive first 2/3’s, ASIB’s third act suffers from mental
lapses. Its almost as if in the telling of its story that it itself becomes
drunk on pheromones. For a just over 2 hour movie, it leaves a lot of
unanswered questions- like it was in a bleary hurry to get to the credits after
the phenomenal meet cute sequences. For example, the script hints at Ally’s
character having some disagreements with her manager, over the perpetual
question of selling out for bubble gum chart topping success vs. staying true
to yourself- but we rarely actually witness any of the conflict. Does Ally
stand for anything (other than by her man)?
With that said, it’s tough to say whose movie this belongs
to. We know from the title that it’s Ally’s character who is being birthed to
stardom (and see that it’s Gaga’s coming out party), but the story seems more
focused on Jackson’s journey- which is odd given that his star is clearly
descending. Ally goes away on tour- seen by an imagined wealth of peoples, and
barely by us at all, and we instead focus on his sobriety (its scenes of the
recovery process are also something that the movie whiffs on). Its almost like
the script hasn’t been updated for the #metoo movement.
It’s after all of the drama plays out that we realize- we don’t really know either of these characters that well at all. It’s frustrating, because after falling in love with these 2 firecrackers of visual serotonin, that we would get something more akin to stars imploding. It’s frustrating, because the movie is still 1 of the better films of the year, and it makes you wonder what could have been had they not missed the dot on the exclamation point.
It’s after all of the drama plays out that we realize- we don’t really know either of these characters that well at all. It’s frustrating, because after falling in love with these 2 firecrackers of visual serotonin, that we would get something more akin to stars imploding. It’s frustrating, because the movie is still 1 of the better films of the year, and it makes you wonder what could have been had they not missed the dot on the exclamation point.
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