Star AND director Bradley Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a tan, booze-guzzling country star, who looks like Father John Misty but on closer listen sounds more like Matthew McConaughey. He picks up the struggling singer-songwriter Ally, played by a startlingly clean-faced, brunette Lady Gaga (aka Stefani Germanotta), in a bar one night. “I don’t sing my own songs. I just don’t feel comfortable,” she says to him. “Almost every single person has told me they like the way I sounded but that they didn’t like the way I look.”
“I think you’re beautiful,” he replies. Her eyebrows raise. So do mine.
And so her star-making career begins! What’s most striking about the trailer is that it seems like there’s no overt conflict here. I thought at the very least I’d see a Jameson-filled shot glass thrown at a mirror, Gaga’s face reflected in the meticulously shattered glass?! Gimme some rage, gimme some more tears! This was a movie that was pushed back to October to make it a shinier contender for awards show prizes after all, though I’m getting more Hallmark movie vibes from A Star Is Born (no diss to Hallmark movies) than Oscar-winner over here. Though Gaga seems like she’s already writing her awards speeches:
I’m thrilled to meet Jack and Ally but also honestly thrilled to meet Stefani, the actress.
