I felt the need to write my first IMDB review after waiting through months of build-up to watch this movie. I can't understand the ratings in here. Mr. Cooper's first attempt at filmmaking seems just like that - a first attempt. He's a talented artist so hopefully he'll come into his own with filmmaking one day but this was miles from brilliant, in my opinion. I wanted to love the movie so much. Gaga's acting seemed amateurish, as well. It wasn't as painful as the 70's version of this saga but I do not get the level of praise for this effort. Maybe I need to go far back to Judy Garland to plug into what magic "A Star Is Born" may ever have existed.