A Star is Born

The girlfriend and I recently had the pleasure of going to an advanced screening of the new film, A Star is Born, courtesy of the always-awesome Alamo Drafthouse in our area. 

This is one of the first films in the post-September slump that I've been looking forward to for a plethora of reasons. 

The initial trailers have been great and send some shivers down my back, Bradley Cooper directing for the first time is highly interesting, and a decidedly dolled-down Lady Gaga as a core performance is icing on the cake. 

Plus the music sounded good. 

A Star is Born is one of those films that almost exactly met my expectations. It didn't exceed them -- though they were decently high to begin with -- nor did it disappoint. It's probably a bit darker than most audiences, including me, were expecting but with these two stars at the helm I think it's fully safe to say we can assume this will be a huge hit. 

A Star is Born moves at a breakneck pace throughout its story, with longer time being spent in the scenes that are chosen. It's here that I'm a bit torn on criticizing the movie because of it. On one hand you recognize just how much film they had to get through (and how much time passes during that fact) but there are also a handful of times where the time advancement seems jarring. We're never immediately jumping to Lady Gaga as an old lady -- but instead its at different stages of their relationship. It had me constantly wondering if I missed something and feeling slightly out of the loop, but it doesn't really ruin the experience by the time it's all said and done. 

"ROWWW ROWW ROWWW Your BOOOoooaaatt!"

"Shall we sing the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' again?"

The film has a lot to say about the music industry, and it's here that I'm finding I remember the most of the film because, funny enough, you realize its themes were never about that industry at all. Cooper's rock star, Jackson Maine, is all about saying something that's worth a damn, especially if you're good at saying it well via music. Gaga's Ally in particular is a gifted songwriter and an even more gifted singer hence why Maine is so infatuated with her from the get go. She's a perfect combination of what he believes to be most important in life. And it's from their that their love - and conflict - arise into a worthwhile, enjoyable, and sad film. Gaga and Cooper's chemistry is surprisingly electric; something you can even observe when they talk about each other in interviews. Chemistry is always judged on if it has that special "something" that you can never put a finger on and Gaga and Cooper definitely have that, especially when they sing. 

And holy God can they sing. 

We always knew Gaga could sing and she's potentially at her best here, in terms of sheer talent on display. Not only is she a convincing actress with very few acting credits to her name, but she's a strong central anchor for the film, just as much as Cooper. And her singing is the type that'll make you stop dead in your tracks. Seeing her outside of her constant "weirdness" (I say that more endearingly than harshly) is odd but really refreshing and I wouldn't be surprised if she turns into a major actress after this and definitely if she gets the Awards buzz. Cooper, who out of nowhere ends up being a brilliant musician, also gives a great, challenged performance of a man battling alcoholism. Maine has a deep-voice drawl that never lets up, kind of making the fact that Cooper voices Rocket Racoon all the more impressive given his range of character voices. The cast is rounded out by strong side performances of Sam Elliot, Dave Chappelle, and others, but this is thoroughly Gaga and Cooper's show.

The mostly fantastic music only adds to the allure of the film as it's the first time you're hearing much of it. I could have done with 1-2 fewer musical numbers as the film seemed to drag near the end with some obviously less important ones (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it). But it's here where the great songs definitely stand out - and sometimes get double attention. It's never a musical by any means to assuage any fears that these two just break out in random song about breakfast foods, but the songs that are here are, for the most part, powerful, extremely well written, done well, and memorable. That said, I never got the sense that the volume was dialed up on these and I wish it had. They never seem quiet, but it would have been great to have them be more thunderous, particularly in a theater setting. 

I do say. Our rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is a chart topper!

A Star is Born may be a 3x remake, but I'd be willing to bet this is the better of the other versions and certainly the most enticing given who's involved. Cooper crushes it in his first time directorial debut and it definitely won't be the last time we see him do this -- he sounds like an extremely logical replacement for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Disney *cough money talks cough cough**. His chemistry with Gaga shines and, truth be told, this is her movie and she owns it. Very few qualms aside, A Star is Born is a wonderful time at the movies.

CONS

• Could have done with a couple fewer of the less impactful musical numbers
• Moves at a breakneck pace and sometimes leaves you disoriented
• For very brief moments it gets into similar lulls
• Songs seemed too quiet!

PROS

• Bradley Cooper will be a successful director. No doubt about it
• Cooper and Gaga's chemistry is palpable and their musical intimacy is something to behold
• Memorable songs and lyrics, and outstanding performances from both, musically
• Gaga will be a successful actress. No doubt about it
• Has a good sense of humor about it. At times this plays like a comedy
• Around the theme of "saying what you want to"...I enjoyed what the film had to say and the themes that will linger with you after the credits

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10