This past weekend I went to see the newest remake of A Star is Born starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. This movie was right up my alley. I mean a movie about music in which one of the main songs Bradley Cooper’s character was supposed to be famous for was written by Jason Isbell and there was also a cameo by Brandi Carlile. I had actually completely forgotten that I knew she had been involved in it. I just saw her post something on Instagram yesterday morning about the movie and I was thinking maybe she had also written a song. Then when I actually saw her scene in the movie I was like oh yeah she mentioned this when I saw her at The Beacon because she met the guy who was opening for her when they were filming the movie.

In case you are unfamiliar with the story Bradley Cooper plays a what I would best describe as an Americana singer who has had a great career, but whose star is starting to fade as he succumbs to alcoholism and hearing loss. Lady Gaga plays an amateur singer who he meets and takes under his wing. They fall in love, but their relationship is tested as her star rises while his is falling. It’s definitely a tragic love story, so if you’re looking for a movie with a happy ending this isn’t it in case you thought it was.

Despite one scene that I had to watch with my hands over my eyes because of the deep secondary embarrassment I really liked this film. The performances were great. I loved the music in it. Also, let me add the obligatory review comment about hey did you know that Lady Gaga could sing, but hey she can. It was actually kind of great to get to see her sing without all the performance trappings that go into her musical persona. I know we’re supposed to think Bradley Cooper’s character is being a jerk when he criticizes Lady Gaga’s character for pretty much turning from a singer-songwriter type into well essentially Lady Gaga, but I was like yeah drop the theatrics and go back. It’s definitely not the feel good movie of the year, but I would recommend it especially if you like music.