If you’ve seen his performance on Jimmy Fallon, you know that Bradley Cooper is an absolutely prodigious air guitarist. So it makes sense that he makes for a great rock star. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really WANT to like this movie. I am not a huge Gaga fan. Mind you, I don’t have anything against her. But I wasn’t really interested in her cross-over to acting. But damn it if I didn’t kind of love this movie.
Maybe the thing that makes it so alluring is this dream of fame and fortune. Because this story, of a normal person being discovered and rising to stardom, is a true story. It does happen in real life (albeit pretty infrequently). Almost all famous people have humble, “ordinary” origins. Most of them got a lucky break or two. Watching this movie is a vicarious experience. We get to feel like we’re in Ally’s shoes. We get to feel like it would be possible for us to be discovered, and become rich and famous. It’s trickery, sure. But it’s a welcome trick. There was nothing surprising in this movie. By its nature, we can easily surmise what will happen. And yet it manages to captivate us anyway, in spite of the obviousness and unoriginality of its plot. That’s what makes this movie so good. We know what’s happening to us, and we don’t even care, because it’s fun to watch someone’s rise to glory.
I had reservations that Lady Gaga was already too famous – already too well defined – to pull off this role. But by stripping her down to her true-looking self, she ceases to be Gaga. She’s Ally, a waitress with a great untapped talent, who lives with her father and struggles to sustain her lifelong dream. It’s easy to empathize with. We all believe we’re capable of greatness, if only we had a chance. On the flip side, seeing how big of a mess Bradley Cooper’s character is has the same disarming effect. He’s a famous rock star, but we see the dark side of humanity and fame. And this movie shows that the dark side of humanity is just as dark, no matter your stature or level of success. It brings him down to our level.
It’s hard to judge how good this movie actually is, because it’s very easy to be sucked under its spell – its promise of bright lights and glory, and a dream come true. There are hundreds of movies out there like A Star is Born. It’s a time worn story. But this particular iteration just manages to pull it off better than most, I think. Some would say there are no new stories to be told. So if we’re accepting that as fact, all we have left to judge is execution. And in that regard, Bradley Cooper delivered.