A Star is Born
Directed By: Bradley Cooper
Grade: A-
A Star is Born had a ton of hype all of which I was soaking up. I love movies or anything about artists and I love music and I’ve been waiting for this one since the first trailer dropped so there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to be checking this one out opening weekend.
I do think it was a little overhyped. It also could have been shorter. There were these long lingering shots where I couldn’t help but think of Blade Runner 2049 and just wanted to yell, “Move it along already!”
On a completely shallow note some of Ally’s costumes were just mind-numbingly bad. Like there’s one performance where she’s wearing cowgirl business casual or something but it was actually distracting. I think I would have preferred some of Gaga’s nuttier costumes.
But I did enjoy it the film.
It goes without saying Lady Gaga can sing and she was fine acting wise. Bradley Cooper proved to be a really good singer as well and they had nice chemistry together throughout the film. I liked that Ally wasn’t sucker punched she knew from day one he was a drunk.
Seemingly everyone did.
And besides the music that’s the best part of the movie.
Cooper does a really good job of unraveling in the throes of addiction and loss. I have never had any interest in the other versions of this movie so I don’t know if they compare and I don’t know their endings but scenes like the embarrassing bit at the Grammy’s were truly hard to watch.
Also the ending was rough for me (and might bother a lot of people as well.) I expected something else entirely was going to happen so when the film played out I got more and more upset. And I have to say that affected my view of the movie.
While enjoyable I also feel that some of the celebrity stuff is totally been there done that. If you’ve ever seen a film or a book about fame and its downfalls you probably have seen the bad manager doing whatever they can, the wise friends who got out of the business, etc.
Though I did like when Ally told that cashier it wasn’t okay to take his picture without him knowing her punching the cop who had asked felt kind of out of character from what see of her.
So overall elements of this movie made it a rough one for me personally. But it does boast good performances, fun music, likable characters and a brutal look at addiction and its costs just keep into account. I think its definitely a film you can dig into and talk over. Though I don’t know about the raptures it had been receiving since the Venice Film Festival.
Recommend: Yes. Plus it’s always nice to have a break from the superhero stuff.
Sounds good, even if it was a tad overhyped!
Spot on review – thank you. We saw it last week and enjoyed it as well – with the same small criticisms. I can say without reservation that it was a huge improvement over the Streisand version. Gaga was a thousand times better. The earlier version ended in a similar way but more ambiguously. I couldn’t help but think that there were better ways but I’ll share after some time has passed and more people have had a chance to see the film. Cheers, Brian
Thanks! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Unpopular opinion I’ve never been big on Streisand as an actress. Perhaps because I can never not see Streisand. When Gaga sings yeah you recognize the voice but I thought she was able to become Ally.
sounds good
Wonderful review! “Cowgirl business casual” lmao I’m trying to picture it but I’m completely blanking. I guess I’ll have to watch the movie to find out 😉
Thanks!
Oh, I had no idea there were other versions of this movie! I already love Gaga’s singing, and I’m curious to see how her acting skills hold up (though it seems like it holds up pretty well, judging by those rave reviews :P). Lovely review! 🙂
I think she did a great job! Might have been the role but she felt very natural.
I am watching the first version. Last weekend I saw the last one and I must say it devastated me. I never saw that coming. What amazing acting from them both. I saw them sitting together and it was nothing like their on screen chemistry so to speak. I never saw that coming. The movie did drag on at times. I am an artist and I felt a tremendous connection. I still think about artists and realize how hard that life is.
There’s definitely a pull to that artistic life that I for one love reading about, watching, etc. I don’t watch American Horror Story so this is the first time I’ve seen her act and I thought she was really good. Very natural. They both disappear into the roles really well and yeah they had great chemistry 🙂
Yes