Movie Title: A Star is Born
Genre: Musical, Romance, Drama
Writer: Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters
Starring: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliott, Anthony Ramos, Rafi Gavron, Greg Grunberg
Review: Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers -- and falls in love with -- struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer until Jackson coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jackson fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
A Star is Born is a fantastic film with an abundance of heart and fantastic acting. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga really sell the authenticity of their characters as two people who are madly in love, and passionate about their work and each other. Cooper should be commended for writing, directing, and starring in this 2018 Academy Award nominee for Best Picture. Not only is the acting great, but the musical numbers are impeccable as well. Lady Gaga is an incredibly talented musician, and Cooper does a great job musically, despite not being a musical artist by trade. Lady Gaga really gets to showcase her raw, natural talent, and beautiful singing voice that sometimes can get overlooked with some of the more theatric elements that many fans know her for. The original songs created for this film were really well-performed and appropriate to the story. I thought the second half of the movie carried a more somber tone than the first, as there are some pretty gut-wrenching scenes and plot lines. With that said, there is a lot of heart and human emotion in this film as Jackson tries to save Ally from the music industry and Ally tries to save Jack from himself. I really enjoyed this modern adaptation of the story and I highly recommend this film!
Fun Fact: Some of the scenes were filmed at the Coachella Festival in 2017, where Lady Gaga was the first female headliner in ten years. Festival-goers paid $10 to see the scenes being filmed, although recording devices were locked away to prevent any footage from being leaked.