A Star Is Born (Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott) — Eighty-one years ago, A Star Is Born debuted with Janet Gaynor and Frederick March. Seventeen years later, it was redone with Judy Garland and James Mason. To most of us, the remake of our adult lives was the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. And now, as if the world needed a new version, here come Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. This may be the best of them.
Who knew that Brad Cooper would turn into a triple threat: actor, director, producer? Put him in the same class as Robert Redford, Orson Wells, and Clint Eastwood. Yes, I’m serious.
Cooper has displayed his acting chops, earning three acting Oscar nominations for Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and American Sniper. He and Eastwood were among the producers of Sniper, too. And now, Cooper takes on the extraordinarily difficult task of directing and producing the fourth American version of a cinematic classic. Like the other giants I mentioned, he also directed himself.
And while he allows Lady Gaga to shine as Ally, the insecure songwriter who becomes a star, Cooper is the heart of this film. Yes, he’s a pretty boy but he is much more than that. He is Redford talented. The parallels of these two are obvious. There was a lot of creative genius behind those smiles.
The joy of A Star Is Born starts with the music. The score is a little bit country and a bit more rock and roll. Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a superstar singer/songwriter/rocker who still fills arenas with his home style ballads and raucous guitar riffs. But he’s a drunk who is suffering from tinnitus. His life is spiraling down though his fans don’t know it. One night, he slips into a gay bar in search of a drink where he hears a highly made-up songstress sing an electrifying version of La Vie En Rose. He is blown away. Behind that make-up is Ally, who he meets backstage and quickly seduces (well, not so quickly and not without passing out).
He not only falls for her, he falls for her talent … as a singer and a songwriter. She is thrilled to be in the presence of such a mega-star and is even more astonished that he wants to sing her song. But when he pulls her onstage to sing it, the reluctant singer/songwriter becomes a star.
But this is not a story with a happy ending. He is heading down; she is launching. He can’t handle it; she feels helpless either to help him or to stop her upward trajectory. The rest of the story is predictable (after all, there are three other version of this film out there) but filled with song, great acting, and human drama. As good as Cooper and Gaga are (and you can expect Oscar nominations for both), Sam Elliott as Bobby, Cooper’s older brother and road manager, is otherworldly. Expect an Oscar nomination here, too.
Even though they are 31 years apart in age, they are believable as brothers. Cooper “stole” his brother’s voice, sounding like the mellifluous actor. But this isn’t just acting; it is a key plot point. Jack and Bobby had a rough childhood with the younger brother now shining bright with his “hero” in the shadows. When they have a major confrontation, the film feels like it hits its stride. Jack turns to Ally for emotional support, and her brand of compassion is both enabling and disarming. But Jack is his own worst enemy. His love for Ally is unquestioned but when he moves into denial, he gets ugly. Ultimately, the guy who rescued her from obscurity starts reinforcing her worst fears — that she is ugly and untalented.
A Star Is Born has lasted four decades because the story is compelling. In the hands of a talented director and three sterling actors, this remake is stunning. Beware, it is a “chick flick.” Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy … With star power galore, wonderful photography, and a tremendous soundtrack, A Star Is Born is a home run at the box office. And it will be prominent, if not dominant, at the Academy Awards.