Review of A Star Is Born (2018) by Richard D — 30 Oct 2018

Well ... I have only ever liked one version of this story, the 1937 version with Fredric March and Janet Gaynor ... probably because that's the only version has managed to stay under 2 hours. It's not that I don't like a good melodramatic story.

I love melodrama. My issue with the last 2 versions of this story ... and this version ... is that all the meandering bloat gets in the way of whatever goodness is there. I liked the first half hour of this where the film's weird, dialogue-heavy meandering script made the growing relationship between the two leads seem a bit more realistic and plausible.

They have good chemistry together, even though Cooper is just doing Kris Kristofferson and seems to have hired Lady Gaga because she vaguely reminds everyone of Barbara Streisand. As the film goes on, the weird meandering screenplay is still there and it means that key plot points just don't get hit while the characters just talk and talk and talk.

I found this film to be extraordinarily dull.