By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
The Oscar race is officially on with this contemporary version of “A Star Is Born.”
Bradley Cooper stars as charming Jackson Maine, a country rock star, plagued by alcohol/drug addiction, coupled with hearing loss.
On night, in need of a drink after leaving a gig, Jackson stumbles into a drag bar, where he watches Ally (Lady Gaga), a wannabe-but-insecure singer/songwriter, warbling Edit Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose.”
Their chemistry instantly ignites. Later, when Jackson brings Ally to one of his concerts, he summons her onstage, where the audience instantly responds to her subtle yet sensational, natural artistry.
Predictably, their romantic relationship becomes rocky when her career trajectory soars to superstardom, just as his declines. As part of her record deal Ally’s British manager (Rafi Gavron) insists that she discard her makeup-free, down-to-earth persona and assume a glitzy pop star image.
Making his directorial debut, Cooper filmed at actual music festivals (Stagecoach, Glastonbury, Coachella), where they both sang live, instead of lip-syncing to prerecorded tracks. He’d made a bargain with Lady Gaga, who said, “I’m gonna rely on you to get a performance out of me, and I’m gonna make sure you’re going to be a real musician.”
The revised, Pygmalion-inspired screenplay by Will Fetters, Eric Roth & Cooper is timely and relevant, delving into the psychological aspects of addiction/co-dependence. The writers invent two additional characters who provide pivotal support: Sam Elliott as Jackson’s older brother/manager and Andrew Dice Clay as Ally’s limo-driving father.
Cooper credits Lukas Nelson, son of country legend Willie Nelson, for character inspiration with Lukas serving as music consultant/composer, while glimpses of “Saturday Night Live” and the Grammys lend authenticity.
The original in 1932 was called “What Price Hollywood?” as a veteran director (Lowell Sherman) transformed a waitress (Constance Bennett) into a star. In 1937, that became “A Star Is Born” with Janet Gaynor & Fredrick March; in 1954, Judy Garland & James Mason; in 1976, Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson.
Supposedly screenwriter Dorothy Parker was motivated by onetime chorus girl Barbara Stanwyck’s marriage to Broadway headliner Frank Fay in the 1920s, after which his career nose-dived.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Star Is Born” is an exhilarating 10, a bittersweet romance.
At the end of the 19th century, the French novelist known as “Colette” was a literary sensation who scandalized Belle Epoque Paris by having affairs with both men and women — and writing about them.
Her story begins in 1892, when impish Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) was 19, living in the Burgundy countryside with her parents (Fiona Shaw, Robert Pugh). When she’s courted by witty Henry Gauthier-Villars (Dominic West) — aka the prolific writer Willy — the marriage is considered a coup since her family cannot provide her with a proper dowry.
Arriving in Parisian society as Willy’s wife, Colette discovers that he’s just the frontman for the Willy brand, shamelessly employing several ghostwriters to churn out books under his pen name. In addition, he’s a gambler, a spendthrift, and an unapologetic roué.
One day, when Willy needs fresh material, he locks Colette in a room, demanding that she chronicle a roman à clef about a teenage lesbian romance. (Somewhat disconcertingly, she speaks in English but writes in French.)
While pliant Colette functions as chauvinistic Willy’s literary slave, her social life flourishes, particularly after she openly flirts with Georgie Raoul-Duval (Eleanor Tomlinson), a mischievous Louisiana heiress who simultaneously embarks on a liaison with Willy.
When Colette becomes aware of their duplicity, she manages a tart rebuke to both betrayers. But that frees her to become Claudine, a tabloid sensation, and pursue a brazenly erotic relationship with the cross-dressing Marquise de Belbeuf (Denise Gough), known as Missy.
Directed by Wash Westmoreland, who co-write the script with his late partner Richard Glatzer and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, its plot is eerily similar to Glenn Close’s “The Wife.”
Having performed in many costume dramas, Keira Knightley is devilishly accustomed to genteel bodice-ripping, and it’s fun to spot Elinor Tomlinson, the flame-haired heroine of PBS’ “Poldark.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Colette” is a sensuously subversive 7, chronicling the rebellious author of more than 80 books, including “Gigi” and “Cheri.”
This week’s box-office is yet another reminder never to underestimate the appeal of comic-book movies, especially when accompanied by an Eminem rap-song.
While it’s not a Spider-Man film, “Venom” is made “in association with” Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The story begins when a space probe launched by diabolical Dr. Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), a tech billionaire, brings a gelatinous alien symbiote back to Earth. When the glob merges with a compatible host, its human vessel becomes endowed with extraordinary superpowers and an insatiable hunger.
When Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), an investigative TV reporter who rides a motorcycle around San Francisco, questions Drake, the symbiote attaches itself to him, slowly melding and transforming him into the hybrid Venom, much to the shock and dismay of his lawyer girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), who turns to Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) to try to extract Eddie’s malevolent parasite.
And carnage has barely begun since Venom informs Eddie that his species plans to invade Earth.
Weakly scripted as a Jekyll & Hyde-type origin story, it’s clumsily directed by Ruben Fleischer with Tom Hardy’s mumbling a bit more decipherable than it was when he played Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises.”
There’s a lengthy end-credits sequence, starting with Eddie and Venom driving to San Quentin to interview psychopathic Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) — aka Carnage — and a predictable plug for Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” set for release on December 14th.
Bottom line: to quote the screenwriters, it’s “a turd in the wind.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Venom” is a fearsome 3. Fangs! You’re welcome.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
