A Star Is Born (1976)

Directed by Frank Pierson. Starring Kris Kristofferson, Barbra Streisand, Gary Busey, Paul Mazursky, Oliver Clark, Joanne Linville, Marta Heflin. [R]

Ineffectual third version of the tried-but-true tale of an artist on decline discovering an untested talent and helping to make her a star while falling in love, but hitting rock bottom in the process. Instead of a Hollywood tragedy, it’s set in the world of 70s rock and roll, with Kristofferson as a washed-up frontman and Streisand as a voice without an act. Paradoxically too long and too rushed, and transposing the action into the realm of popular arena rock makes it an even more naïve fairy tale, which is also paradoxical since the miscast Streisand plays her early scenes with too much polish and comfort beneath the blinding lights. Two biggest problems: 1) the stars don’t gel, especially in a sexual fashion (their love scenes aren’t as uncomfortable to watch as your parents necking, but it’s at least on the level of your cousins bumping uglies), and 2) the songs aren’t any good, not even the Oscar-winning love theme, “Evergreen”. With these two qualities being insufficient—critical to the success of a quasi-musical romance—the smaller problems don’t seem so galling, such as the foolish decision to make Kristoffersen’s last scene look less like suicidal despair than a fatal drunk-driving error, followed by Streisand’s bizarre reaction to the result. Also bizarre is how the deepest impression the movie leaves is that music fans are consistently invasive, obnoxious, inebriated and entitled—guess they picked the wrong role models? Streisand executive produced, while her then-lover, Jon Peters, produced; humorously, the fourth version of the story starred Bradley Cooper, who would go on to play Jon Peters in Licorice Pizza.

38/100