The Unfettered Critic – November 2018

“I just wanted to take another look at you” is a key bit of dialogue in the oft-produced movie A Star Is Born. The heartfelt line is delivered by the film’s male lead: Fredric March in 1937, James Mason in 1954, Kris Kristofferson in 1976, and Bradley Cooper in this year’s much-anticipated reprise. The object of this affection? A fresh-faced ingénue—respectively: Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Lady Gaga. Hollywood, obviously, thinks it’s us that wants another look. Both the line and the melodramatic tale it enhances reappear cyclically, like cicadas emerging from dusty vaults of celluloid.

Well, we couldn’t be happier about it. This month we’ve looked at all four incarnations of the film—and we’re not burned out! If you’ve seen any version of A Star Is Born, you know the story. Esther, as she’s named in the first three, is a talented girl aspiring to be “a star.” She has a chance encounter with Norman Maine (later “John Norman Howard” and “Jackson Maine”), a luminary slipping from the zenith of his celestial circuit. He’s so taken with Esther’s talent that he uses his last spark of power to boost her into glorious orbit. As she flares brighter and brighter, his trajectory drifts toward an inevitable fate. Talk about “star-cross’d lovers!”

The fairytale aspects of the story, buttressed by the actors’ winning performances, have drawn in generations of audiences. Each remake updates the original screenplay just enough to provide resonance in that new era. In 1937, Esther was a farm girl longing to appear on the silver screen. That put moviegoers still suffering from the Depression in her corner—even if they couldn’t quite see what magical quality made her “better” than others with similar aspirations.

By 1954, producers realized they’d have to offer tangible proof of Esther’s talent, so they transformed her into a singer. No more phenomenal singer existed than Judy Garland, and she’s magnificent here, despite her reported off-screen battles with addiction and emotional instability. When Judy croons “The Man Who Got Away,” and sobs that she doesn’t know how to help the increasingly self-destructive Norman, we suspect she understood his plight all too well.

The Barbra Streisand version updates the story by setting it in a rock concert environment, with Kristofferson portraying a sexy, self-destructive Jim Morrison-type. The songs are wonderful (“Evergreen” won an Academy Award), but Streisand was such a huge star that little effort was expended in balancing her rise with the aging rock star’s decline. What initiates his inner demons is not quite clear

Which brings us to the current production. Cooper, who stars, directs, produces, and co-wrote the updated screenplay, shines. We learn more about his character, so he’s a more sympathetic lead than any of his predecessors. Yes, he’s a falling rock star, but we see that his substance abuse is not mere self-indulgence. Plus, Cooper turns out to be one heckova singer.

Yet it’s Lady Gaga (dubbed “Ally” here) who makes us “want to take another look” at this A Star Is Born. How does one follow icons like Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand? Simply by being Lady Gaga, of course. In her public appearances and music videos, Gaga has worn disguises: hats, masks, and odd costumes. As a result, she’s reputed to be the only celebrity who can walk the streets and not be recognized.

Well, that ends now. With her face stripped of theatrical makeup and her hair unadorned, Lady Gaga has been exposed. In the process, she’s bound to be elevated to the stardom that the fictional Esther has wanted since 1937.