A Star Is Born Reviews

The fourth remake of this story, this is a fairly good, though overlong, film, executive-produced by Barbra Streisand and produced by her companion of the time, Jon Peters. Rock star John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) takes solace in booze while his career slides. After a particularly embarrassing concert performance, the sullen star visits a nightclub where the interracial female singing trio "The Oreos" is performing. Impressed by the talents of Oreo Esther Hoffman (Streisand), John gets her an audition that leads to a recording contract. An album is released, Esther becomes a star, and she and John marry. But, as everyone watching expects, trouble looms in paradise as her career soars and his plummets. John ruins Esther's Grammy acceptance speech, staggering onstage to interrupt her triumph. Eventually he leaves her and dies in a car crash. The picture should have ended there; unfortunately, a lengthy coda follows, with Esther performing a concert dedicated to her late husband. Streisand fans will love this extra footage, but others will yawn. The songs, from several sources but mostly by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher, range in quality from "Watch Closely Now" (a dreadful, interminable tune sung too often by Kristofferson) to "Evergreen," cowritten by Streisand and Williams. Director Frank Pierson clashed repeatedly with Streisand and later made some much-publicized charges blasting the star for megalomania.