A Star is Born Review

I was really looking forward to seeing the remake of A Star is Born but couldn’t get there opening weekend because of travel. I heard some women talking about it in the nail salon.

“Wasn’t it great?”

“Yes, I cried at the end.”

I wanted to go even more after “overhearing” the reviews, so I finally reserved tickets for my husband, an evangelist friend staying at our house, and myself, to see A Star is Born Sunday night. Nowadays, my family is spoiled when it comes to movies. It’s hard to go to a theatre unless the seats recline and we can order a meal to eat while enjoying the flick. So that’s what we did. Here we were in our comfy chairs, feet up, munching on a chicken sandwich—anticipating some great entertainment.

But from the beginning, we found the language offensive in A Star is Born. I know it’s difficult to find a movie nowadays that doesn’t use profanity, but in the case of this one, it seemed like a majority of the sentences were laced with “F” bombs. The Family Movie Guide actually counted them—103 profane words were spoken. It seemed like more, and for me, detracted from, rather than enhanced the movie.

In Ephesians 4:29 it says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

In this movie’s defense, it was not billed as a faith-based film.

Did Bradley Cooper do an impressive job playing the role of Jackson Maine, the aging rock star who struggled with addictions? Yes.

Was Lady Gaga, who portrayed the up-and-coming singer, believable, and a better actress than expected? Yes.

However, every time there was a string of profane words, it was like getting punched in the gut—repeatedly.

I watched our thirty-one-year-old evangelist friend on the edge of his seat, ready to walk out. He obviously felt the same way.

Add nudity and addictions and the mixture results in a very dark movie.

So the three of us, disappointed, left in the middle of A Star is Born.

As Christians we need to be careful about what we watch and listen to because we can be influenced. In Matthew 6:22–23, Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

One of my Bible study teachers once said about the world: “Our eyes are adjusting to the darkness.” I think that is why movies like this are popular, even with Christians. However, instead of accepting the darkness and going with the flow of society, let’s do more to shed light in this world by supporting films that will not embarrass family members and friends because of language or nudity. Let’s get behind movies that may tackle a difficult subject, but that reflect light, not darkness. Our world needs hope. Great stories should be told, but can be done in a more tasteful, less offending way.