Gaga for a Star is Born

A Star is Born review

Pulling my sister through the bustling crowd outside the  Village Pointe Theatre wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break. Sure I had a  “Million Reasons” to watch a Star is Born, but was going on a Tuesday the best option?

Rated a whopping 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and earning over $340 million who wouldn’t have set the highest expectations?

The movie follows Jackson Maine, played by Bradley Cooper, as a seasoned musician battling with alcoholism. He falls in love with struggling artist Ally, Lady Gaga, and coaxes her into the spotlight as a singer. As Ally’s career takes off though, Jackson starts to battle with his own monsters.

The romantic cliches and stellar performances laced with jam-session worthy songs (like “Shallow”) that will make you want to “Just Dance,” make this movie close to perfect.

First walking into the theatre, I knew what I was going to get. After all, the leads are played by the esteemed Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. The chemistry between the two is magical. Though it was Gaga’s first performance on the silver screen she has already been nominated for Best Actress in the Golden Globes. Bradley Cooper has been nominated for 2 Golden Globes: best actor in a drama film, and best director. The emotion both Cooper and Gaga had throughout the film was very raw and natural, to everyone it seems (judging the number of Golden Globes), making it seem as if they weren’t even acting.

The first half of this movie was phenomenal, and I felt like I was leaning out of my seat the whole time. I was feeling all the emotion the actors were feeling, and my heart melted with every romantic moment, kiss, and song.

All the actors and actresses were full of emotion. They were selling their characters so well, and I felt like I was in the movie. That’s how immersed I was.

Cooper was able to direct, produce, and act, which translates as a triple threat and lots of revenue.

Though I’m not a film nerd myself, I noticed myself getting bored of the same angles over and over. The only camera angles Cooper chose were close-ups and middle shots, not the best variety. I do understand that he is very talented for being able to not only act but also direct a superhit. But I would’ve appreciated more style variation in the cinematography.

Though I lost myself in the first half, I found that the plot struggled to keep me captivated in the second half. The second half wasn’t as raw or heartwarming. Nevertheless, it was still emotional and close to the end of the movie I found myself asking my sister for some tissues.

But also I found myself asking questions about Jackson’s past. The movie explained Ally’s past enough that we were invested in her character and her struggle with music. With Jackson, we didn’t have much to connect with. If there was more information about his past, the second part of the plot could’ve been more realistic and connected with the audience better.

This movie has its ups and downs, but the positives outweigh the negatives. Watching this movie I was captivated, singing, crying, and- most of all- in love. Overall this movie deserves 4 stars and lots of “Applause.” So grab some popcorn (and some tissues), and watch this movie before it leaves theatres.