The first time Ally (Lady Gaga) steps out onto that stage with Jack (Bradley Cooper)..it is enough to keep you watching this movie.

But if you’re still not convinced, read on.

There are some a-MAZING songs in this movie. The title of this review is only a line of one of them. Spoiler Alert! Maybe? A little? Not really. But read at your own risk.

I used to write movie reviews. But not very often. Namely because I’m not very good at them. Haha! I am usually too easily pleased and not very critical. Let’s put it that way. But I decided to blog about A Star is Born because…I cannot NOT talk about it. I guess this movie review is more of a commentary than critique. Shrug.

Let me begin by saying I was going to see this movie whether or not IMDB.com gave it glowing reviews. Whether or not RottenTomatoes, which should really be called StickUpItsButt Tomatoes, gave the movie its elitist blessing. If it got 4.5 stars out of 10 on IMDB and 19% on RottenTomatoes, I was still going to make a point to see this thing. I remember coming across the 1954 version with Judy Garland when flipping channels on T.V. and then, seeing the promo for the latest version a week later and for the slightest second wondering, “Could this be a remake of that 1954 movie? Nah. Pure coincidence. Hollywood is lazy and recycles titles all the time.”

Come to find, of course, several days later, A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper is not the first, not the second, but the THIRD remake of the film that first entered movie theaters in 1937. Ok. So Hollywood was mindful this time in picking out a title…unoriginal, but mindful.

I wish I had watched all the other versions so my perspective on the film could be that much better, but I haven’t, so bear with me. I’m only working with the 2018 version. BUT if you were to search the sypnosis of all the others you would find “A musician helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral” (IMDB.com) is pretty much synonomous throughout all four.

Ok, enough stalling.

So. I didn’t want to see this movie because Bradley Cooper starred in it, or to see just how good of a singer he could be. For me, he has always been a likeable guy, but my feelings for him as an actor always ran lukewarm. He hasn’t been one of those “Omigod! Bradley Cooper is playing in this movie! YAAAS! I HAVE TO SEE IT!! YAAAS!” He has striking blue eyes and a nice smile. I’ll give him that. Once again…likeable guy.

I was drawn to this movie mainly because of Lady Gaga. (And ok, yes, because of the role Bradley Cooper would play in her character’s life, but that role could have been played by anyone.) Apart from all the rave reviews she received for the film, it didn’t matter. I’d watch the latest A Star is Born regardless. Why? The woman’s a chameleon for crying out loud! You can pick any two of her songs and you wouldn’t for a second think it was the same person singing them. Where her voice is robust and soulful in “A Million Reasons”, it is sweet and youthful in “Paparazzi”. Her voice is amazing. I can’t think of another contemporary artist who could’ve played the role of Ally better.

Beyond her mind-blowing singing capacity, the question “Can she act?” is easily answered. Yes. I’ll admit..when Jack (Bradley Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga) exchange lines for the first time on screen, I couldn’t tell if the awkwardness between the two was bad acting on Gaga’s part or intended lack of social grace upon Ally (Gaga) meeting a superstar (Cooper), but as the movie progressed, Lady Gaga slipped into her role as the unjaded fledgling of a talented songstress nicely. I didn’t question her acting ability any further.

The dynamic between the duo worked quite nicely. Yes, Gaga is no stranger to show business nor putting on acts, after all, every concert she holds, she is “performing”, but still, she is new to the acting scene. Her acting journey throughout this movie almost ran parallel to her character’s tiptoeing into the limelight in the first several scenes. Bradley Cooper had to guide Gaga’s wide-eyed character through the fame and fire (while trying to ward off his own demons) after he initially pulls her into the spotlight, inviting her to sing on stage with him. Gaga’s singing voice holds strong and confident but her character’s ego never balloons up, which I think adds to Ally’s charm. She doesn’t lose herself throughout the duration of the film, and as Jack was her mentor in the beginning stages, she finds herself taking care of him in that “downward spiral” IMDB.com mentioned. I almost felt the way in which Ally remains that wide-eyed girl at the end of the film in spite of all the fame mirrors Lady Gaga’s emergence into the world of acting. Timid at first, but she smashed it.

And Cooper loves Gaga’s character in such a tender, enviable way you can’t not feel your heart flutter more than once. The way he runs his finger down the line of her nose as they sit side by side at a bar, rubs his thumb along the red leather of her left boot as she rides behind him on the back of his motorcycle. And most simply, how he looks at her, his blue eyes shining.

So yes, this is a love story. But it is also a story about finding your voice (sorry, that was a cliche, wasn’t it?), finding happiness, and finding yourself.

I promise you, there will be at least an inch of you moved, if not your entire self.

I have to say, this movie made my opinion of Bradley Cooper go from lukewarm to heartwarming. If his main role in this film was to love "Ally" with every inch of his being, that most certainly came across in the movie. Well done, Cooper! I guess you're loveable just as much as you love...your co-star's character. I think I just might watch your next movie.

Anyway, I’ll wrap this up with one of my favorite lines from one of the songs in the movie:

“I’m falling in all the good times I find myself longing for change, and in the bad times I fear myself.” If that single line doesn’t give a little insight into the film, I don’t know what will.