A musician helps a young singer find fame, even as
Director: Bradley Cooper
Stars: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, Dave Chappelle, Ron Rifkin.
Richy Jackson ... choreographer
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517451/
Watched at AMC Woodbridge.
18 songs in the Soundtracks, 3 by BC+, 3 by BC & LG, 9 by LG+, 3 other.
The acting was good. But this needed better editing, possibly a better script, and definitely better music.
The film was tooooooo long. At the hour mark I pulled my jacket over my head to shine a light on my watch. I did the same thing with my cell phone half an hour later. When I saw BC prepping for his suicide, I was "happy" because I figured the film was close to being over.
This is the same length as the '76 film, and is patterned very closely on that one, too much so, especially given that we have 2 other antecedents. They acknowledged all 3 sources in the credits, and the '76 film in the script by, at least twice, having BC say hey to LG, and when she turned around, "I just wanted another look at you." (One More Look at You is the big closing song in '76.) But I got annoyed at the bathtub scene as being too copycat.
I stayed for the beginning of the credits, and was surprised to see Jon Peters (b. '45) as a Producer (not exec, which I thought means he was hands-on, not just honorary). He was bf to Streisand for a few years, and his first of 38 producer credits was the '76 version. He's got some good films on his CV.
I'm no expert on hard rock (BC) or whatever Ally (LG) was singing, but the music did not impress me at all, nor did the lyrics, but I might need to see them to be sure. The big finale, where LG sings after hubby has died, was a weird song that BC was supposed to have written (but actually credited to LG+ on IMDb): I'll Never Love Again. The weird part is that it was supposed to be praise for the love they shared, but could easily be interpreted as condemnation instead. NOTHING like the quality of the near-anthem of One More Look at You, or Evergreen. And although I don't like hard rock, I enjoyed Kris Kristofferson's singing in '76; unfair because he's a pro, but I expect a pro to portray a pro.
Ally's career was not what it should have been. So she's stressing their relationship (and altering her life) to make "music" she doesn't believe in, just hit crap.
In prior versions, the BC character realized he was dragging down the LG character's life, and self-sacrificed. Here it's presented as more of a fulfilment of his attempt at almost 13 yo, goaded by her manager (don't remember that from the last 2 versions).
I'll be curious to see it again a few years from now, at home, in the way I watch most films. Maybe I'll feel more kindly. Or maybe BC will make a director's cut that tightens up the time and the story.
Warner & MGM & more, dir. Cooper; 6
