It's good, but a bit pretentious and unrealistic

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2019)

Here is an emotional tale about a well established, and internally troubled musician who falls instantly in love with a talented woman, and takes her under his wing. What stands out the most are the performances by both Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, both of whom work together like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. And despite the story being about two people in a professional position the vast majority of hopefuls could only dream of, their relationships and struggles are relatable, and captivating. And while I'm not a fan of Gaga's usual musical style, I personally found myself really enjoying the music. And wow, you'd think Cooper and Gaga have been lovers since before both their careers even began.
But there is NO WAY Gaga's character would have had that vocal range and stage presentation that early. Lady Gaga is a heavily practiced and trained performer, and her character was someone who was just used to small audiences in a familiar setting. To suddenly start performing at the level of Gaga herself from the get-go, is a little ridiculous. The story is a bit cliche and predictable, and Cooper was definitely coming off a bit "rapey" at the beginning. If he wasn't such a stud, more people probably would have been put off by his character early on (I mean imagine during the scenes at the club, where he first meets her, replacing Bradley Cooper with Michael Emerson or Andy Serkis. SERIOUS creepy vibes). It also seemed as if they wrote the film with the intention of making it into the Oscars (a modern age problem, an Oscar award should be just that: an award. Not the main goal).
Still, I was hesitant on watching it in the first place (honestly, only reasons I ended up willingly watching it, was because I love Bradley Cooper, and I used it in an act of compromise with my wife to get her to watch a horror movie with me), and I'm glad I did. Good movie, worth checking out.