So So Star!

Rating: 5/10 (26 October 2018)

A reasonably entertaining, underwhelming and under-imaginative 4th version of the material with 2 decent, if one-note, lead performances, but little else to recommend. The film lacks atmosphere, supporting characters of consequence, and characters who you really care for. The songs are a mixed bag and we get no real sense of either stars relationship to the outside world and/or their audience; we don't really see what makes them a star. His inevitable decline and her meteoric rise are expected, but her acceptance of a "cute" marriage proposal just after she gave him an ultimatum is unpersuasive. The conflict is tiresome and repetitive and the end is not in the least bit moving. Though not repellent like the 1976 version with Barbra Strident, it's just as unmemorable. Cooper's direction is competent and a few scenes click, but it's overlong and over rated and the second half really drags.