A good but depressing movie

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2018)

A struggling restaurant worker who moonlights at drag night clubs gets a big break when a country music singing star unexpectedly ends up in a night club where she is performing. As her rise to stardom , riches and fame ,ascends quicker than a rocket, her partner, who discovered her, sinks into and gets destroyed by alcoholism and drug addiction.
Bradley Cooper's performance is somewhat annoying because his scruffy, ugly facial hair never changes (he is actually a handsome man dressed up to look like Kris Kristofferson in this movie...ewww ;/), and he often mumbles through his lines. But hey, that's the way substance abusers are.
Lady Gaga's timing and expressions, singing are freaking amazing.
The motto of this movie is: There is nothing cool about alcohol/ drug addiction. Apparently, many in real life refuse to get the memo.
Before Lady Gaga appeared in any movies, I already knew she could act based on her appearance in one of her music videos with Beyonce a long time ago. What may be a pleasant surprise for some is the display of her musical singing versatility here. She is quite the skilled entertainer who has the whole package, similar to Madonna. Here she sings country ballads, country rock, pop and French cabaret showtunes with such conviction it might surprise some people.