Did we really need 3 versions of this?

Rating: 7/10 (25 February 2019)

As a career musician, I approach any film that chronicles the music industry and/or known act with pre-disposed bias and skepticism. After all, aside from family, I take what I do, what I spend my time and make endless sacrifices for, very seriously, and am instantly insulted when film makers show disrespect to the craft by abandoning basic musical principles and adhering to tired and inaccurate oft used cliches. I have respect for both Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, its hard to deny before coming to this, they have long-established themselves as very talented individuals. I also have respect for people who are not career musicians attempting to capture the essence of musicians and mimic their mechanics whether it be by singing or playing an instrument. Some film makers wisely stay away from those details when they realize they cant pull them off; Bohemian Rhapsody being a good example, Behind the Candelabra perhaps being another one. I also have to be carefully guarded, right from the start, against any film that shamelessly calls itself "A Star Is Born". Films of this nature easily become self-aware and self-indulgent.These days, the popular music industry isn't what it used to be, nor is the attitude of the average fan. Music has devolved to be free, industrial, mechanical, non-dynamic, and disposable, with a short shelf-life and abated connection between artist and fan. Consumption dollars are primarily towards live entertainment as there is no product except a ticket stub and a T-shirt. This doesn't upset me, not really, rock has been over-valued since the 70's, and everything that needed to be said about that genre has been said many times, to the point where critics, desperate to keep their jobs and hide their envy, consistently try to intellectualize something that is innately stupid. If being a rock star was so special, we certainly have had a lot of them, haven't we? There's a half-a-million more in the wings that merely a flick of the wrist being all that separates them from obscurity and fame. I was wondering at the onset, how much homage they would visit to either of the 2 preceding versions of this story. They wasted no time in making a jab at Bab's nose. Then the film continued its long course of one improbability after another, without realizing it IS those string of improbabilities that ARE/FUEL the cliche, the phantom character of the film. Don't get me wrong, the film resonates priority one, it draws you in. We're already familiar to Coopers work in film, we have high expectations. Lady Gaga's presence is fresh in this medium by comparison (although she was awesome in American Horror Story seasons 5 & 6, so a continuance in film seemed expected and assumed). She's got that natural magnetism that draws you in; you WANT to watch her. What se CANT do yet, as an actor, is hide her pain and vulnerability. This is a woman who trusted someone who deeply hurt her, its in her eyes, the way she walks, meanwhile trying to fool us into thinking she's the girl next door. She's anything but, something you'd think success would have taught her by now, but she still hasn't let her past go, still remains chained to the mast. Sam Elliot delivers a strong performance, and it was great seeing Andrew Dice Clay and Dave Chapelle so removed from their wheelhouse, I have always thought comedic people should always do drama after they got established in comedy. The directing style is a little claustrophobic for my taste, the pacing and dynamics a bit muted too. The film is a little slow and understated. This isn't to say ASIB is a bad film, far from it. There are a huge amount of Cooper/Gaga fans, as well as a huge entertainment-base who will be curious and embrace the film just on general principle alone. For me, its a bit predictable, tidy, and uneccesary.