★★★★☆

 

If you were to tell me that I am the only one of my generation who didn’t see the original A Star is Born you would be close to correct. I say close because I know my brother hasn’t seen it either. We both read the parody of it in Mad Magazine many times because they always did a great job with a parody, but we never saw the movie, thus I cannot compare this version to that.

One thing I didn’t figure out until the credits rolled was Andrew Dice Clay was playing Ally’s dad. For once The Dice Man just disappeared. No chanting dirty nursery rhymes or any other Diceisms. He just disappeared into the roll and if you didn’t read the credits you didn’t know it was him. Very nice job Mr. Clay, very nice job indeed. Hopefully you will do more work like this in the future.

When Bradley Cooper was singing and talking at the beginning of the film I thought “Wow! He sounds just like Sam Elliott!” Low and behold Sam Elliott appears. Always a joy to see him show up in a movie. Some people diss “Road House” but I liked that movie and his role in it. In many ways it felt kind of like the same role here, but he does it so well.

Bradley Cooper seems to be able to fill any role he wants. The man can just act. No more can really be said that hasn’t been said about him before. When you got it you got it and hopefully he never loses it.

Lada Gaga was a somewhat unique experience for me. I know she has acted before, I have just never seen her in anything other than a music video. The girl can sing and she seemed made for the role. I will admit 12 year old me felt extremely cheated by the nanosecond of her standing up in the tub before the bathroom door closed. They should have just cheated and closed the door with her out of frame rather than piss 12 year old me off. Honestly, that’s my only criticism of the movie.

Admittedly the story of the story of a genius artist whose addiction is now taking far more than it is giving his art is a formula. It plays out in real life on a regular basis for anyone who follows the lives of Rock Stars. Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, and Jim Morrison all kind of paved the path for such a tale. I’m sure there were some Country artists who drank and drugged their way into the grave as well. Hell, Bon Scott was basically the inspiration for “Back in Black,” the greatest rock albums of all time.

If you pay close attention to the story line you will see another tried and true realism of the recording world, “producers try to fit you into a mold they are currently selling.” They are never willing to believe someone else can walk the path of an enduring act which is long in the tooth. If you question that ask yourself just how many new artists get played on Classic Rock stations? You might also want to rent “Burlesque” and “Coyote Ugly.” I’m having trouble remembering which one of those had the male interest of the female singer forced into a “boy” band even though he was pushing 30.

What I found truly surprising in this movie was the quality of the music. The live concert segments felt real and done in one take. It wasn’t just the facial expressions in the early scenes, their eyes looked like they were in love. That’s a difficult feet.

A Star is Born is a long movie, but well worth your time.

For other movies to put on your rental list here is list one and list two.