A STAR IS BORN – Review

This new A STAR IS BORN is a slow-paced and predictable melodrama that takes awfully long to get where it’s going, but Lady Gaga’s indisputable star power is in full effect and Bradley Cooper (who also directed) is bitter enough to keep things watchable. Cooper plays hard-drinking music legend Jackson Maine, who discovers struggling singer/songwriter Ally (Gaga) in a drag queen dive. They immediately and completely fall in love, a set-up to what we know is going to happen for the rest of the story – conflict. They marry and Ally’s career takes off, but the personal side of their relationship breaks down as Jackson fights ongoing battles with career downfall, booze and his own internal demons.

This story has of course been filmed several times before, but even if it hadn’t, there’s never an original moment in A STAR IS BORN. Like most show-biz dramas, there’s a noticeable loss of energy in the second half, once success catches up to our heroine and it gets lonely at the top. But there’s no denying that this is one terrifically-acted movie. As a director, Mr. Cooper is quite generous to his novice co-star. Ms Gaga is showered with close-ups and, whether you’re a fan of hers or not, you have to admire the talent and dedication she brings to the role. She sings here like her life depends on it and the camera loves her. Cooper is also superb playing the weaker half of the couple. Jackson Maine is already a wreck in the very first scene so we never witness the height of his powers, but Cooper displays a nice, unaffected looseness. The fact that he seems to handle the musical side of the movie as well is a big plus and the scenes showing Jackson’s fall – his drinking, the drugs, the unreality – are especially well-handled. An uncomfortable breakdown at Ally’s Grammy Awards triumph feels close to truth and is probably the best scene in the film. Sam Elliott’s is well-cast as Jackson’s easygoing older brother, but the real scene-stealer is Andrew Dice Clay in a meaty role as Ally’s dad, a wanna-be crooner who drives a limo.  It’s his pride in his daughter’s success that gives the movie added heart. Rafi Gavron is miscast as Rez, Ally’s star-maker manager, especially weak in a last-act showdown between him and Jackson that rings false. The concert scenes feel epic and the more intimate moments shared between the leads have some nice warmth to them, but A STAR IS BORN is a mixed bag, a rambling, overfamiliar story accented by some decent songs and excellent acting.

3 of 5 Stars