Directed by Bradley Cooper

Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters

Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Elliot, Dave Chappelle

I didn’t want to see A Star is Born, so let’s get that out of the way. Right from the trailers it was a movie that never interested me and didn’t seem compelling. And if not for the fact that it is Bradley Cooper’s directing debut, I never would have made an effort to do so. The movie turned out more or less than what I expected. It’s not a great film, I don’t think so, but rather a solid debut from Cooper as a filmmaker, and a defining onscreen presence from Lady Gaga.

Apparently, this is the fourth version of this story that has been made over the years. I had no idea about this, nor any likeness this iteration shares on the others since I haven’t seen them, so I’ll just talk about the 2018 one. Bradley Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a singer with a hearing problem, and a deep relationship with alcoholism. The movie dives right in on one of his performances, showing him popping pills onstage right before he grabs his guitar and heads to the mic. The camera dogs up and down, and all around and close to Cooper in handheld shots.

Lady Gaga is Ally, a waitress with an annoying boss, who sings to herself while she’s on garbage duty. I like how the opening title is put here, nice move Bradley. She performs at a drag bar in her free time, the same bar that Cooper drunkenly stumbles into after his show, looking for more booze. Ally performs a version of La Vie En Rose, Jackson admires her from the bar. She ends her number sprawled out in front of him, and Cooper holds on a shot of her face sideways, painted in red light, as she looks at him. It’s here we know the two of them will fall in love.

The following scenes between them are fairly effective. Gaga and Cooper elevate some really bland writing into more believable moments. The acting is better, FAR better, than any of the writing. I think Cooper and the other filmmakers focused more on the songs rather than the dialogue or story. The music is alright for the most part, although later Lady Gaga has a couple of wonderful solos.

Jackson believes in Ally’s talent, and forces her to sing onstage with him. Gaga’s performance here is kind of incredible, for she (as Lady Gaga, someone almost everyone knows) has to sing here as someone who has never been heard on a grand scale, and do so with all the emotions that come with the disbelief and excitement and crippling self doubt of performing, and do it like it’s the first time. Tell a hall of famer to knock it out of the park, but do it like you’ve never stepped in the park before. I believed you Stefani, I believed you fully in this scene. Obviously she poured much of her real life experiences and struggles in the music industry into this. And even though Lady Gaga says Ally’s story is a bit different from her own, she still is insecure about herself from all the years of hearing that she had the voice but not the look. And that’s exactly the words that Ally uses when first speaking to Jackson about her talents and anxieties about them. Specifically about how she has a big nose, and the movie doesn’t let you forget that.

Cooper based his lower voice and accent that he uses for Jackson on Sam Elliot, who plays his manager and half brother. They have an uneasy and unsure relationship, because of their long passed father’s drinking problems. While Lady Gaga is perfectly cast in her role, I felt for Jackson that Cooper did well, but could have been played by several other actors. That isn’t a knock on Cooper, the role of Jackson isn’t as deep or present as Ally’s.

And herein lies the problem with this movie. For so much of it I felt that there was something missing, maybe many things missing, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. And I think it’s that Jackson’s descent into his vices just doesn’t make for great storytelling or filmmaking, with scene after scene after scene of Cooper drinking and doing drugs. This is not compelling. And as Ally rises in fame, Jackson must fall. Jealously comes out. This is as by the numbers as you can get. And it’s why the ending took me by surprise, because it deviates from this so hard, and is why many people will leave thinking it’s a great movie. But more on that later, but not really since it’s spoiler territory.

Stories like these have their staples, and also their cliches. A Star is Born avoids some, but disappointingly keeps others. At least Ally’s manager is not secretly out to destroy/sleep with her, and for that I’m grateful. But still, this dumb triangle between the fame of Ally and her manager, and Jackson’s embarrassing addiction problems is unbelievably dumb. At least Rafi Gavron does nicely here as that manager, and represents the studio control over stars. But also there are straightforward scenes like him sitting next to Ally and saying, “you’ve just been nominated for 3 Grammy’s, including best original artist.” Maybe scenes like that work for you, but I find them pathetically weak. I sit there and groan that I have to watch a forced reaction to an inevitable beat in the script.

And jeez, this script. The dialogue for sure is not great, and does not do a good job of keeping us interested for most of the run time. As I said before, the acting is much better than this writing. If not for Cooper and the powerhouse of Lady Gaga, I probably would have left the theater tired and angry. But there is a great line uttered by Cooper later on, “it was you I idolized not dad”. Cooper’s delivery is heartbreaking. He chokes out the words in a painful departure. He said in an interview that it was the scene that scared him the most. You’ll know why when you see it.

I’m glad that Bradley Cooper got to direct this though. I remember watching old episodes of Inside the Actor’s Studio and seeing a young Cooper (then a student of the acting school) eagerly question whatever guest Lipton had on there. The passion and investment was always there in his eyes. And when I watched the behind the scenes commentary on The Hangover done by the cast, I noticed that while Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis joked around, Cooper was seriously talking about the craft of Todd Phillip’s directing. I knew instantly he always wanted to be a director. I can forgive A Star is Born for it’s weaker writing since it was an ambitious undertaking by him. And certainly I think he has an amazing career behind the camera ahead of him. I just wish more time had been put into the writing, and that we had lingered longer with Ally before she becomes famous. It all happens so fast, and then not much happens but those series of performances and then giving into demons. As a musical it’s okay I guess (not as offensive as fucking La La Land for goddamn sure). I think there’s two or three really good songs, but the others felt more like background music for these stars. Long after this movie comes and goes, people will remember Lady Gaga and the ending.

And the ending. The ending which I cannot talk about to those who haven’t seen it. The handling of which shows Cooper’s strength as a director more than any other moment in the movie, and shocked me that he had the courage to keep the conclusion that a certain character would never have found his way out of. And later a key edit that is as powerful a mark as any storyteller could hope to hit. How I wish the rest of the movie was better. The ending is almost too good for this film. And so is Lady Gaga, who was unrecognizable to me in all the marketing. She is this movie. And I don’t think there is anyone on the planet who thinks another actress could have taken this role. Her vulnerable and honest portrayal just makes you want to hug her. Shame on this screenplay for those dumber and standard moments. She’s too good for this material. She deserved a better written part, with more heart stopping music. Her and Cooper wrote and co-wrote many of the songs in this movie. And while I love that there was original music, I also lament that there wasn’t much original dialogue or storytelling. Dave Chappelle’s appearance acts like a turning point, and he grounds the movie’s direction. I hated Dice Clay in this though, and found him to be a ridiculous and unnecessary distraction.

Ally’s final singing performance in the movie acts as a counter to the opening one with Jackson. The camera glides around her in stable movements, unlike the drunken motions from earlier. And during it all is Stefani’s onscreen brilliance, shining through a forgettable script. A Star is Born nearly breaches the cancerous lines of oscar baity trash like Les Mis or La La Land, but doesn’t because of her. And because of Cooper’s direction. The movie marks the beginning of great transitions for the two. And I hope to see more from them, and root for the best.