It’s a musical love story –
Oct. 8, 2018 – But back to the beginning. Jack (Bradley Cooper) discovers Ally (Lady Gaga) in a drag bar, where she performs live vocals that upstage the lip-synching drag queens. Her literally head-turning performance gets Jack’s attention, and it is hard not to be enchanted by this moment. But that’s followed by a goofy backstage bit where he asks about her fake eyebrows, followed by a scene in a bar where reassures her about singing her own songs. His encouragement here, and in a lovely subsequent scene in a parking lot where she performs for him, are magical. This sequence culminates with Jack dropping Ally off and wanting “to take another look” at her in what is contrived to be the film’s grand romantic gesture. These early scenes show the promise Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” has — and fails to maintain.
