Should A Star Is Born win Best Picture?
Me: Absolutely not. I'll probably be most upset if this movie won more than any other. The concept of discovering some out-of-nowhere talent rise to the highest of heights not only has been done to death, but this movie didn't tell any particular portion of the story well at all. It swung and missed on a couple of its most important story notes. Plus, I don't want what basically could be turned into a VH1 tape of Lady Gaga's career to win Best Picture.
The wife: No. I don't think a remake should earn Best Picture. I liked the story, though I didn't like the sad ending. The acting was great, but I just don't think remakes should win this award.
Do we recommend this movie?
Me: Mostly yes. The acting is spotty, but it's a compelling journey and good musical performances and songs.
The wife: Absolutely yes. The acting was great - Bradley Cooper did an amazing job. I don't think Lady Gaga should've been nominated for Best Actress, but for her first on-screen performance, it was really good. I thought the music was great.
The best parts of this movie?
Me: Bradley Cooper is the reason this movie is getting so many accolades. His persona through his character was vibrant and revealing. It has Best Actor nominee written all over it. He went to great lengths to learn how to sing, and even the non-singing portions of his vocal performance were outstanding. His directing was decent, though I'm not outraged he didn't get nominated in that category; there were some weird choices throughout.
The wife: Bradley Cooper's acting, singing -- just his performance overall.
The worst part of this movie?
Me: A lot to choose from, but it was incredibly annoying that Lady Gaga's character just nailed the first performance of the new song she and Cooper's character worked on the very first time with absolutely no practice in front of a live audience when she was incredibly nervous to even get on the stage. To me, her character turned into this "Aw shucks, I'm not that great of a singer" type of person who transformed into this superstar who belts the song to the back row, as if she knew the crowd was there to see her all long. The fact that Lady Gaga is a singer in real life makes that moment (and every other moment she performs) all the more hollow; it's basically a chance for her to do what we'd expect her to be capable of doing.
The wife: The ending. It's just stupid. I feel like the movie added the suicide to make it feel more realistic, and I understand that famous people have to deal with this very real issue, but I wish they had an accident or something instead (I'm really not trying to be insensitive a about it).
Me: Agreed. Suicide is a very real issue in our society, but this movie makes it look like his suicide was done with good reasoning and intent, as if he was doing her a favor. Not cool. Suicide is never the right choice, and I don't like when any form of art or media paints a picture that says otherwise.