Film Review: Lady Gaga Characterizes the Title ‘A Star is Born’

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CHICAGO – Stefani Joanne Angelina Gemanotta, also known as Lady Gaga, is the only reason to see the latest iteration of ‘A Star is Born.’ The luminous stage presence that propelled her to music superstardom is present in her major film debut, taking the female lead reins from Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

The rest of the film, directed by the male lead actor Bradley Cooper, is a choppy journey through the template of fading male star/rising female star and their relationship. This story line was established in the original 1937 “A Star is Born” starring Janet Gaynor and Frederic March, with Judy Garland in 1954 giving it a spectacular musical spin, Barbra Streisand switching to musicians rather than actors in 1976, and now Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper continuing the musician path with the current version. It was Cooper that made some choices with his character that are distracting, and the story just doesn’t have a launching point, preferring to hang its hat on addiction without real depth or explanation. Regardless, fans of Gaga will go gaga over her acting chops, and it is likely that the divine Lady G may add an Oscar nomination to her many accolades.

Bradley Cooper is Jackson Maine, a popular musician who is covering for a tinnitus (ear) problem and his past woes with booze and pills. An accidental reroute of his limousine lands him at a dive bar with a nervous singer named Ally (Lady G) doing a slam-bang rendition of “La Vie en Rose.” Smitten, the drunk singer invites the cabaret crooner to an after-hours hangout, where he proceeds to get into a fight.

After that rocky launch, the couple starts to percolate when Jackson invites Ally onto his current tour, and she sings one of her original compositions on his stage. This gets her a connection to a producer, who reworks Ally into “Ally,” and starts her rise up the charts. Although pleased that he launched her and subsequently marries her, the problems that Jackson has are still plaguing him, and it affects the rising star.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “A Star is Born”

Jackson (Bradley Cooper) Loves Ally (Lady Gaga) in ‘A Star is Born’
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “A Star is Born”