A Star Is Born (2018)

Warner Bros, 2018
Starring Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliot, and Rafi Gavron
Directed by Bradley Cooper
Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Lukas Nelson, and others

No one was expecting much of the fourth version of this oft-told story when it came out last October. Cooper had never sung on-screen or directed; this was Lady Gaga's first starring role in a movie. It wound up being one of the bigger hits of 2018, was on many critics' ten best lists at the end of the year, and got eight Oscar nominations. How does it stack up against the hype...and the famous earlier movies from 1954 and 1976? Let's head to California for a country music concert and find out...

The Story: Jackson Maine (Cooper) is one of the biggest stars in country music. He's also also struggling with alcohol and drug addictions and hearing loss. Hoping to cheer him up, his manager and older half-brother Bobby (Elliot) takes him to a gay bar where he's entranced by Ally (Lady Gaga), a waitress who beautifully performs the French song "La Vie En Rose" for the crowd. He's further smitten after she tries to punch out a fan who was bothering him. They get to talking, and he invites her to his concert. He even gets her onstage. She's so successful, she ends up going on tour with him. Things aren't going as well with Bobby. Jack fires him after he learns that he sold the ranch they grew up on...only to learn that he'd been too drunk to hear about the sale.

Rez, a smarmy record producer (Gavron), is so impressed with Ally, he offers her a contract and steers her more towards generic pop music. Jack claims he's not upset, but he passes out drunk in public and ends up recovering at the home of his friend George (Dave Chappelle), missing one of her shows. Not only does he make up with Ally, but proposes to her and eventually rehires Bobby. As she grows more and more popular, he begins to fall more and more off the wagon, ending in his passing out drunk at the Grammys while she's giving her speech for Best New Artist. He goes to a rehabilitation group, and Ally cancels her upcoming to take care of him. Rez claims Jack is holding her back...but it isn't until after he's gone that she realized how important he was to her and her music.

The Song and Dance: Wow. Cooper and Lady Gaga's chemistry was off the charts, especially in the musical numbers. Every time they're on the screen, you can practically feel the sparks between them. Cooper, Elliot, and Lady Gaga got Oscar nods as tough-but-vulnerable Jack, his gruff older brother,  and the strong-willed Ally; Chappelle added much-needed levity in his brief role as one of Jack's closest friends. Lady Gaga feels so real and down-to-earth as Ally, you'd never know this is the same woman who once paraded around in a meat dress.

Favorite Number: "Shallow" won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and the Oscars...and yeah, I can see why, especially when Cooper and Lady Gaga sing it in that first concert. Their performance is electric. Lady Gaga's "La Vie en Rose" at the gay bar is so raw and emotional, you can understand why Jack fell so hard for her. His best solo is the touching "Maybe This Time." She gets two gorgeous ballads towards the end, "Before I Cry" and "I'll Never Love Again." And...I know it's supposed to be a representation of how Ally sold out, but the pop-py "Why Did You Do That," sung on the Saturday Night Live sequence, is actually a lot of fun.

What I Don't Like: As good as Cooper is, there may be just a little too much of him. Previous versions of the movie focused more on the Ally character and how she becomes a star. It's really her story, not his. Cooper should have shared a bit more. And there's no denying you've seen the story before. The cliches are handled better here than they were in Bohemian Rhapsody, but they're still pretty obvious.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of rock, pop, romantic tearjerkers, or either of the stars, you'll want to hit the road and watch Ally become a star, too.

Home Media: As one of the most recent movies I've reviewed and a huge hit, this is quite easy to find in any format of your choosing.

DVD
Blu-Ray
4K
Amazon Prime