Movie Review: A Star Is Born

Producer- Bradley Cooper, Jon Peters, Todd Phillips, Bill Gerber, Lynette Howell

Director: Bradley Cooper
Star Cast- Lady Gaga Null, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Andrew Dice Clay, Andrew Silverstein
Genre-Musical Drama

Rating: ***

A Worthy Remake!

Jyothi Venkatesh

What is interesting to note is the fact that the film A Star Is Born has been made thrice already--in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March; in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason; and in 1976 with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Today, more than 40 years later, it is Bradley Cooper’s turn to try his luck. 

The film is about an inebriated superstar, Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) whose career hasn’t been looking up of late. His manager brother Bobby Maine(Sam Elliott) is not too happy with his sloshed out performances .Jackson hears wannabe singer- waitress Ally’s (Lady Gaga) version of ‘La Vie En Rose’ in a drag club and thinks it will be a good idea to get Ally on board for a stage show with her own lyrics too. It turns the story of an alcoholic country rock musician who meets and romances a younger up and coming artist who has the talent but not the luck, into a newfangled Cinderella story.

Bradley Cooper gets empathetic performances from first-timer Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, and the rest of the star cast. The contemporary music scene is well represented and the inevitable clash between western and pop generates a lot of interest. The film boasts of brilliant acting and superb musical sequences, with a first rate soundtrack that will sell like hotcakes.

Like Beauty and the Beast and Point Break, it is a tale as old as time. To sum up, the film is different enough from all three previous versions to be able to stand on its own two feet both as a worthy remake and as entertainment for viewers with no prior knowledge or interest in the story.