A Star Is Born

Grade: A-

There’s a scene late in Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born where a character observes that music is essentially just 12 notes between any octave. Beyond that, the octave repeats, and all an artist can offer the world is how they in particular see those 12 notes. This is the fourth version of A Star is Born. You could say a third of the octave has been represented. I went into this one cold, having never seen the original or its two remakes. Its 2 hour and 16 minute running time feels longer than that, in the good way. It reminded me of some of the best of Paul Thomas Anderson’s, Martin Scorcese’s, or Cameron Crowe’s sprawling epic character pieces, like Boogie Nights, Casino, or Almost Famous. It sucked me in and played like a cinematic symphony.

This is an impressive directorial debut for Bradley Cooper, who also stars as the male lead, almost perpetually drunk and high, red faced, and with a deep nasal drawl that sounds like the voice I used to call in sick a couple times 20 years ago when I wasn’t really sick. The role famously played by Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand is done in a phenomenal breakout movie performance by Lady Gaga. She carries the movie, gives us a character that will resonate with us long after the last frame, and, though I haven’t seen many of the would-be Oscar films yet, all other Best Actress contenders will have to really step up to the plate to give me something I like better than what Gaga does here.

Cooper makes excellent effective use of his supporting cast. In a fun twist of fate, after gaining notoriety for his raunchy misogynistic stand-up act in the 80s and early 90s, Gaga’s father is played here by Andrew Dice Clay. I never understood why people got so offended by all that. When I was finally old enough to see some of his stuff, it was obvious to me it was a persona. Not only that, but he seemed to be making fun of the people who are like that in real life. Other faces I recognized were Sam Elliott, Dave Chappelle (as a voice of reason), Eddie Griffin, and Ron Rifkin.

ASIB falters in a couple of places. I was slightly lost as to why Sam Elliott’s character resigns as Cooper’s assistant/roadie. There is some vague dialogue regarding something about an overhaul to a venue. I wondered why, after all those years of some serious incidents, that was the last straw. Also, the ending feels a little pre-conceived and too obviously foreshadowed. Still, though, this is a special cinematic experience. I now want to see the 3 previous versions, but from my perspective, after this one, it feels like I don’t really need to.

Grade: A-