Do you think professional critics get backhanders? Possibly, lol.

Rating: 3/10 (5 October 2018)

Cooper's painfully earnest depiction of a (very unlikeable and greasy-haired) addict is far too heavy for this frothy material. As one reviewer said, more 'A Star Goes Out' than 'A Star Is Born'. At least the self-indulgent focus on him spares us much of Gaga's precariously near-wooden acting. If Cooper was insistent on giving it the heavy-handed treatment he should have had the character's addiction stem from the pressures of fame and not from his family background. The resulting premise makes the music industry setting redundant. Subsequently, there is no palpable reason for tension between the leads, which makes for a very lacklustre experience. This might have been saved by a crackle of sexual chemistry but there is none. Cooper looks good without his shirt on but so what? Nobody wants to stare at those two weird faces for two and half hours. Some of the gruff-voiced dialogue is embarrassing (Sam Elliott, anyone?). Following in the unfortunate footsteps of 'Mother!' and 'Hereditary', it's unintentionally funny in parts and boring in others. The songs aren't bad but they're not in the same league as those from the 1976 version. Gaga's performance on the stage is, of course, good but not that good. She screeches out the songs from the beginning and consequently has nowhere to go for the denouement. Let's face it, she has about a quarter of Streisand's talent and none of the charisma. I can see the effort, but mediocre results. Next!