I would recommend this to pretty much anyone. Especially people who don’t go to theaters anymore because “they don’t make the grown-up movies that they used to.”
I saw it opening night in a packed theater and thought it was great. I’m not sure how “good” it is, and how it will hold up outside of my enthusiastic audience, but I love when I can get swept up in a Hollywood melodrama. With some good music. I’m not sure you could call it a musical, but I think this is the actual musical-for-people-who-don’t-like-musicals, unlike some other movie I didn’t care for from a couple years ago. Speaking of which, I’m curious if there will be a divide between A Star Is Born people and La La Land people, or if you can love both. The contrast that pops into my head is: LLL = tight & dry; ASIB = loose & wet. That’s my scientific analysis.
I don’t have much experience with Gaga. Unsurprisingly she comes across as a star. Her acting was a little rough in spots, but she was perfect for the role. Anytime she wasn’t onscreen I couldn’t wait for her to come back. Cooper was great. His face and skin look appropriately rough for the life he leads. Best use of sweat in a motion picture. Sam Elliott’s awesome, of course. And Dave Chappelle lookin’ real jacked, baby.
I look forward to seeing it again. Hopefully it holds up.
Those that have seen all of the remakes still seem to feel the Judy Garland one is the best, though this one appears to be getting ranked above Streisand.
This movie has been getting crazy buzz for a while, and it’s supposed to be legitimately good, so I’m moderately interested. There’s already a lot of chatter for Gaga as a Best Actress contender.
Okay, I saw it and loved it, but the any talk about Gaga for best actress is completely ridiculous. She was good, but certainly not great. Bradley Cooper deserves the nom long before Gaga.
Now Best Song? The final song seems like a lock, with heavy competition from The Shallows (that’s the one that gets played in all of the ads).
Gaga’s dad was my favorite surprise of the movie which I will not spoil here…
I saw this, and it worked very well for the musical tearjerker that it is. The performances were all good-- I thought Lady Gaga was very convincing except for maybe one scene. One odd thing is that her character seems so committed to what are portrayed in the film as awful and inauthentic aspects of her career as her popularity rises.
My friend are in trouble for luring me into this movie. I did not have enough tissues in the car. Also, I’ve always liked Bradley Cooper, but holy shit, the man not only acted very well in this movie, he sings! I don’t typically go for that kind of music, but I loved the stuff at the beginning more than what they went for at the end.
While I found Gaga ‘ok’, I thought the talent level and performances leveled out, and possibly dropped as the film went on. The drag bar french song aside, what brought strength the the appearances on stage with Cooper was a richness in her voice, which went away as she became the ‘pop star’, and that all seemed very bland.
I actually think they should have gone with an unknown here, which would have made it more interesting, and possibly added further meaning to ‘the film’.
Conversely, I know Gaga is a ticket draw…and the only thought I had for a known voice that might make the role/performance a richer torch bearer and more interesting might have been Rihanna, But unfortunately she is proven as such a terrible actress, where Gaga is ‘decent’. But I found it an interesting thought, and perhaps the mixed role of a struggling performer with some of Cooper’s directing magic could have gotten a better showing out of her. Definitely would have made for a different type of movie.
I agree. I preferred the earlier songs/style compared to the later stuff. Based on critics and reviews which sometimes list the songs in order, I seem to be somewhat out of sync with the rest of the viewing population. The songs they did together were my favorite. The latter stuff was enjoyable just not as memorable and exciting as the earlier stuff.
I really enjoyed this, though I do agree the opening half is considerably stronger. That said, I totally bought into their romance. The performances were great across the board, which is surprising considering the nutty casting choices for the supporting turns (Andrew Dice Clay and Dave Chappelle!?). I especially loved Sam Elliott, and some of the nice visual flourishes during the live performances (like the low, dizzy camera in Cooper’s drunken Orbison tribute).
Re mok, aren’t the pop star performances in the film intentionally bland, so when Gaga finds her voice at the end of film, she becomes authentic again?
I agree with this. And I don’t even think it’s supposed to be a terrible thing, it’s just a reality that sometimes compromises must be made. It’s not called An Artist Is Born. I’m not sure I would listen to any of this music IRL without the context of the movie, but because it worked so well in the movie I find myself listening to the soundtrack at home. And yeah, I think the early stuff is better, but that really didn’t bother me because I thought I kinda got what they were going for.
This article by Vulture about how the events of A Star is Born would play out online is so spot on. Don’t click unless you’re prepared for serious spoilers.
