A Star is Born… and I just love it so much.

Honestly, I’m not actually ready to talk about this movie. I probably won’t be for weeks. But I’m writing this because it needs to be known. I’m writing this for you, because you deserve it, because you HAVE to see A Star is Born. Yesterday.

Earlier this summer, shortly after the trailer for A Star is Born was released, I was at a family dinner. Already very excited for the movie, I began to talk it up at the table. Almost immediately, a family member (who will remain unnamed) shot down any hope of the movie being any good. Bradley Cooper’s acting, his potential directing, Lady Gaga’s voice, and the idea of A Star is Born being remade yet again couldn’t possibly lead to a successful movie, said my relative. Well, after roughly four months, I can proudly and decisively say BOY, WERE THEY WRONG.

I could go on for some time about how my dinner table hype train ended up being a million percent accurate, but I’ll try and stick to the movie for now. I’m going to stay away from the plot here as I think everyone should go into this as blind as possible and just enjoy the ride. But here’s the vaguest synopsis possible:

“Rockstar Jackson Maine¹ meets Ally², an unknown singer and songwriter, and as they fall in love with one another, Jackson helps Ally find the spotlight and a star is born!³”

That’s it! That’s all I’m saying. What I will tell you is that A Star is Born is guaranteed to hit you with all of the feels and emotions. It’s impossible to not stupidly grin as Jackson and Ally perform. No less than five times did I find my knee bobbing to the original music that I was hearing for the first time. And yup, it’s probably going to make you cry. I’ll put odds that 75% of the people that read this will in fact shed a tear at some point during the movie. Never in my life have I heard more people crying in a movie theatre than when A Star is Born faded to black. It was nuts.

And the music. Damn.⁴ You know how at the Oscars every year, all the nominees for Best Original Song perform throughout the show before ultimately revealing the winner? So I’m thinking this year that they might just reserve 20 minutes in the middle of the show for Cooper and Gaga to go out there and sing, because there’s a pretty good chance that they get all five nominations. Now I’m sure that won’t actually happen, but all of the music here is actually phenomenal. “Shallow” from the trailer will be the fan favorite for most, but there’s so many more to love. Cooper and Gaga really killed it here. Speaking of…

BRADLEY COOPER AND LADY GAGA KILLED IT. There is no A Star is Born without these two. They were simply incredible. Starting with Cooper, did you know that this guy could sing? And who knew that Gaga could act?⁵ Both of them were unrecognizable. Never once did I think, “Oh there’s Phil from The Hangover,” or “There’s that pop artist that wore that dress made of meat that one time.” All I saw and heard was Jackson Maine and Ally. They worked so well together that I’m 100% on board with both of them winning Best Actor and Actress, respectively. They’re that good and because of it, A Star is Born turns into something amazing.

Verdict: Incredible.

Seriously, let’s just fast forward to the Oscars now. I’m sure some of these other movies that are coming out in the next few months are going to be phenomenal, but I don’t see how they’re going to match up. In every category. Cooper did the near impossible and created a movie for the ages. It would have been so easy to focus on all of the original music and build the movie from there, but instead he put together a real story where the music fit in perfectly to help tell the story. Huge props to Cooper, and even more to Gaga, who clearly brought out the best of him. I’m not sure the stars will align and put these two on screen together again, but for now I’m just thrilled that A Star is Born exists. Don’t miss out on this year’s Best Picture winner.⁶

Scenario to Watch: This movie is meant to be seen in theaters. Buy your tickets now. NOW.

P.S. Special shoutout to Bradley Cooper’s real life dog, Charlie, who is probably the best part of the whole movie. Thanks for that one, Brad.

P.P.S. After re-reading this, I truly believe Cooper and Gaga both win Best Actor/Actress. I will be genuinely shocked if they lose. For both of them, this is the stuff the Academy gushes over. Total transformation, deep seated emotions, real life issues, and the performances of a life time. God damn.

1. Bradley Cooper
2. Lady Gaga
3. Yeah, I went there.
4. See my favorites below.
5. And not that American Horror Story stuff. Like Oscar level acting.
6. You heard it here first! Woo!