Sadly, after that his character is supposed to be in love with Lady Gaga's character and only the Harlequin Romance crowd is going to buy that.
In her review of the film -- "An Audience Is Bored" -- Marcia tries to figure out why the film was remade yet again?
It's a very good question.
If there was any reason to remake it, it was to add a modern spin on it.
And the best way to do that?
Make it a story of an up and coming actor. One who falls for an older actor, an established actor, one who is gay and out of the closet.
Cast Dennis Quaid or someone in that age range for the established star. Bradley Cooper can play the up and comer.
Bradley's got a future in front of him, his agents insist. He could be the new Batman! He could be anything and everything, the biggest star in the world . . . provided he stays in the closet.
That adds a tension -- something missing from the latest remake -- and updates it.
And at the end, after the Dennis Quaid character has died, you've got Bradley announcing to the world who he is and who he loved.
That's as powerful as Judy Garland's climatic moment.
Doing something like that would have given this remake purpose and scope.
Instead, Bradley Cooper, as a director and co-screenwriter, has just retold the same story that the previous three films told better. He's added nothing at all. He's just picked the bones of those who came before.
