Too Cautionary

Rating: 7/10 (5 October 2018)

Let me preface this by stating that I was really excited to see this film. I'm a fan of Bradley Cooper and was stoked after seeing the trailer. The casting of Lady Gaga intrigued me, and I wondered if they could pull of what 8 Mile had accomplished. To my disappointment, they could not.
The film certainly had some brilliant moments. Bradley Cooper was phenomenal, as expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed a couple of their duets. I even cried a few times at the Cooper's depiction of the broken troubadour. But the film never closed the sale that they spent over two and a half hours pitching me.
In the end, there were just too many cliches. While I admire their attempt to go big with the story, it came off less Crazy Heart and more cautionary tale, brought to you by Live Nation. I couldn't help myself considering the irony that the industry this film is warning us about is the one that was selling us this film.
I wish they would've let the film be smaller. I wish it had been a little less calculated and, like the Gaga's new look and the trailer seemed to promise, honest.