A Star Is Born

By: Arlene Allen

This is the third remake of A Star Is Born since the 1937 vehicle with Janet Gaynor. All have been well done, hugely successful films and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing all three. This latest incarnation is by far the best because it brings immediacy and timeliness to this tale of fame waning and waxing.

Bradley Cooper stars as Jackson “Jack” Maine, a once pivotal rock star prematurely aged by booze and pills. Bouncing from bar to bar, Jack finds himself in a drag bar where he hears Ally (Lady Gaga) belt out “La Vie En Rose.” It’s one hell of a performance and Jack is blown away. He asks to meet Ally and inquires if she’s even written or performed any of her own music. In a page taken from Gaga’s own life, Ally tells him she does write but will never sing in public because everyone she has auditioned for criticized her looks. Jack, of course, thinks she’s beautiful.

Slowly but steadily he coaxes her from her shell; she sings a song she wrote, and Jack pulls her onstage to sing it with him at the end of one of his shows. And thus, Ally’s star is born.  But there’s so much more going on in this film. Jack has hearing issues that he does not want to address, unresolved issues with his late father and a brother (Sam Elliott) who is so full of platitudes and nagging advice that it drives a wedge between the two.

Ally’s father Lorenzo (played by a low key Andrew Dice Clay) is hesitant, but very supportive of his only daughter, even when the inevitable “fame monster” steps in and tries to change everything about Ally – her hair, her music, her dance routines and (of course) her relationship with Jack. Both Ally and Jack are stubborn and very much in love. There are some of the simplest yet most romantic interludes between the two that put a few rom-com ploys to shame. The chemistry here is natural and absolutely believable Cooper and Gaga are just naturals with each other.  Taking pages from their own life stories also adds genuineness to the film that previous versions lacked.

Cooper’s performance is that of an actor at the top of his game. He is on level with Jeff Bridges’ Oscar award winning tour de force in Crazy Heart. Gaga had the biggest shoes to fill – those of the late Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. Not only does she hold her own, she puts a personal indelible mark on the role. It’s not just her voice, which is surely in a league of its own; it’s her genuineness.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s the timeliness of the film that makes it relevant in today’s market of remakes and reboots. The fame machine has never been more out of control. The ending of the film – eerily foreshadowed in a conversation between Jack and George – is doubly sad because of its all too painful reminders of what’s happening in today’s music world. The message of the film has always been about the price of fame and that hasn’t changed. It’s more the fact that Cooper and Gaga seemed to have lived it and they make us believe it.

I would be remiss not to mention the phenomenal soundtrack.  Listen carefully and there’s even an homage to Judy Garland as cast can be caught singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Cooper’s song “Black Eyes” is his showstopper and Gaga’s “La Vie En Rose” will just knock you out of your socks. “Shallow” is their brilliant duet. If you aren’t crying during Lady Gaga’s finale, “I’ll Never Love Again,” you may want to check yourself for a pulse as it’s that poignant.

I highly recommend seeing this on the big screen,and in Dolby where you can. It’s definitely worth it.