I've seen many films at my local, midtown theater and never knew that room could sound so good. Starting with the electrifying opening scene of A Star Is Born, which transports you in a cinematic sweep to the Stagecoach festival stage, you realize you're watching a film that aspires to be a big deal. It is. Turns out, Bradley cooper can direct — and sing.
We know his co-star, Lady Gaga, can sing. Her first song is an a cappella Somewhere Over The Rainbow, that plays as the film title graces the screen. It's an obvious nod to Judy Garland, who starred in the first remake of this film in 1954. Soon after that scene, we realize that Lady Gaga can act too. I loved her stripped-down performance as Ally, a superstar on the rise.
Cooper and Gaga not only provide musical authenticity to their characters, but they have solid chemistry in a film that is part tender love story and part every-rock star-movie-ever. Yeh, we've all seen part of this story before, but I crazy heart loved it anyway.
No surprise it all feels familiar. A Star Is Born has been created for four generations of movie lovers. This treatment follows the 1937 original, the 1954 Judy Garland musical, and the Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson version in 1976.
Despite the film legacy, Cooper's version is thankfully free of irony. The rise to fame is chill-inducing, the romance is authentic and tender and the fall from grace is well, heartbreaking. It's one of 2018's must-see films.
In a nutshell: Cooper and Gaga make beautiful music together, until they don't of course.
Award potential: Like the musical Chicago (2002), Star will likely be nominated across the board in acting, musical and technical categories. Likely twelve or thirteen nominations, including the big five.
This stellar version will be the most honored version, which is no small feat. Fredric March and Janet Gaynor earned Best Actor/Actress nominations in 1937 and James Mason and Judy Garland also received those nominations for their remake. No pressure, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. A win at the Oscars will prove difficult, but both should prepare their Golden Globe speeches now.
Multiple songs may get nominated for Oscars' Best Original Song, but Shallow will be a front runner until we see what Mary Poppins Returns has in its bag. Judy Garland's song, The Man That Got Away, lost to Frank Sinatra's Three Coins in the Fountain. Streisand's Evergreen won at the 1977 Oscars, somehow knocking out nominee Gonna Fly Now from Rocky.
The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.
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