Ever since the first trailer for Bradley Cooper’s directorial feature debut, A Star Is Born, dropped earlier this summer, audiences have been riding a wave of anticipation. Widely considered to have one of the best trailers of the summer and featuring original music from Cooper’s co-star Lady Gaga, the movie was declared a fall must-see and an early Oscars contender. That’s a lot of hype to be showered upon Cooper’s first-ever turn behind the camera, but when Gaga starts belting, it’s hard not to get swept up in that powerful crescendo of high expectations.
Enthusiasm hit a fever pitch earlier this week when Talkhouse.net accidentally published a review before the embargo lifted (it has since been taken down), comparing the picture to some of the most spectacular films of the 20th century. Was this hyperbole—knee-jerk adulation that exaggerated the film’s achievements? Or were audiences about to witness the birth of Hollywood’s next great auteur while enjoying a revelatory performance from Mother Monster?
Well, according to early reactions to the film, which just screened at the Venice Film Festival following yesterday’s premiere of Ryan Gosling’s First Man, the answer might be a bit of both.
Here’s what the critics are saying.
#AStarIsBorn is FAR better than your standard popstar movie. #BradleyCooper does an incredible job and #LadyGaga impresses too. #Venezia75 pic.twitter.com/O89Jfbypmd
— David Opie (@DavidOpie) August 31, 2018
There's a song in #AStarIsBorn I'm already in love with. I hope other @ladygaga fans feel the same when the soundtrack arrives. #Venezia75 pic.twitter.com/jXdrE3lpCH
— David Opie (@DavidOpie) August 31, 2018
It's going to make eleventy billion trillion dollars. People are going to see it 10 times in the theater.
— Alex B. (@firstshowing) August 31, 2018
I mean, Lady Gaga can sing (obviously) and that's what makes the movie sing. But technically it's not impressive at all. That said, I won't be surprised if this become's the current young generation's Titanic-esque love story massive hit.
— Alex B. (@firstshowing) August 31, 2018
Happy to report that Lady Gaga is good in A STAR IS BORN. Music is too. And Sam Elliott is *great* #Venice75
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) August 31, 2018
Well, #AStarIsBorn is weird, dysfunctional & a little fucked up & that actually saves it from being a typical mainstream bore & makes it into its own unique little thing. A bit hard to fancy at first it, it wins you over with sincerity. And its awkwardness. #Venezia75
— Beatrice Behn (@DansLeCinema) August 31, 2018
Just seen A Star is Born (Lady Gaga is very good) and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Now waiting for press conferences on both.
— gunnar rehlin (@GunnarRehlin) August 31, 2018
This is just a small sampling, of course—we’ll have to wait until the full reviews start pouring in and the movie hits theaters. But based on these early reactions, it sounds as if A Star Is Born may not quite secure its place in the pantheon of great American cinema, though it clearly has its strengths. People forget that Gaga was a trained actress before she became a pop sensation—she’ll likely find herself in the thick of a crowded Best Actress race—and it seems like the musical elements of the story will help buoy whatever is “cheesy” and “cliche” in the film.
A Star Is Born hits theaters October 5.
