The hotly awaited remake of A Star is Born came out last week, and already the film – which stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga – is spawning a whole new category of meme.
The update of the 1937 classic is Cooper’s directorial debut. Though various versions of the film have played with different career paths, the gist of it remains the same: a super-famous man helps to break the career of an ambitious woman, they fall in love, and eventually, her star surpasses his.
In the 2018 version, Cooper plays bearded guitar-strummer Jackson Maine. Lady Gaga, meanwhile, plays aspiring young musician Ally, and over the course of the film, Jackson grows ever more bitter about her success in the music industry. It’s all because he’s in part responsible for helping her to find a platform.
Off the deep end
In one particularly fist-pumping moment of the film, Ally belts out ‘Shallow’ – an epic ballad of monstrously grand proportions – onstage with Jackson Maine. In the film it’s her first big break, and unsurprisingly, it’s a scene which has spawned many imaginative imitations…
Some fans made their own parody trailers, starring singing Pokémon Jigglypuff, and Homer Simpson on lead vocals. Because, of course they did.
https://twitter.com/tole_cover/status/1046492689104031750
https://twitter.com/faggiecheung/status/1034559490908192768
Another meme-minded fan riffed off ‘Shallow’s gigantic chorus – “I’m off the deep end/Watch as I dive in/I’ll never meet the ground” – and photoshopped Ally’s head onto Ellen DeGeneres’ iconic Time Magazine cover. The original headline read “Yep, I’m Gay”.
— Patrick Sullivan (@PatchNavillus) September 26, 2018
And others have simply been inspired by the vocal pipes that Gaga brought to the number.
https://twitter.com/LizlieKnope/status/1035709885017677824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1035709885017677824&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.popbuzz.com%2Fmusic%2Fartists%2Flady-gaga%2Fa-star-is-born-memes-shallow%2F
“I just wanted to take another look at you”
A Star is Born‘s meme-potential was realised quite some time ago; fans have been messing about with memorable scenes since the first film trailer came out.
Other than the instant canonically impact of ‘Shallow’, the trailer left us with one more iconic takeaway. The scene where Jackson Maine drives past Ally, rolls down his window, and utters the immortal words…
“Hey”
….
“I just wanted to take another look at you”
Instead of calling the police, or filing a complaint with the International Body for Crimes Against Cheesiness – both entirely valid responses, to be honest – Gaga smiles a knowing grin in reply. The whole moment is soppier than a vat of mushy peas at the local chippy, and so of course, it’s inspired a bunch of piss-takes.
"Hey"
"What?"
"Ain't you that rah rah bitch?" pic.twitter.com/pgEJdBg2J8— gagagoogoose ⭐️ (@bornthatwayy) June 7, 2018
One fan compared Ally’s award-winning smirk with earlier versions of the film scene, starring Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.
Four "wanted to take another look at you" smiles from four STAR IS BORNs pic.twitter.com/c35pif6QCc
— Alison Willmore (@alisonwillmore) September 25, 2018
One particularly bizarre meme swaps Lady Gaga for Gritty, the newly appointed, divisive mascot of Philadelphia Flyers.
— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams) September 25, 2018
Another fan reimagined how the scene would look if A Star Is Born was set in Sarf Landan.
a star is born innit pic.twitter.com/FWUZujXQdK
— Emma Stefansky (@stefabsky) September 19, 2018
Ally, the ally
At one point in the film, Jackson tries to encourage Ally ahead of an SNL performance, by paying for an excessively large billboard, with a picture of her face on it. Who said romance was dead?
Lady Gaga is often referred to as an ally of the LGBTQ community, and so several fans have pointed out that her character’s name in A Star is Born is an appropriate one.
They’ve also adopted the billboard as a way of praising other unsung allies, fictional, and real. One jokingly references Elio’s supportive father, and his motivational speech to his son in the Oscar-winning film Call Me By Your Name.
When Elio’s dad says “what a waste” pic.twitter.com/I2sbRa9GXR
— Slade (@Slade) October 7, 2018
Another played on another Oscar-winner, Moonlight. The coming-of-age film, which follows Chiron’s struggles with sexuality and masculinity, stars Janelle Monáe as his supportive friend Teresa.
https://twitter.com/RealToddHaynes/status/1048798535989129216
Ariana Grande also got the billboard treatment…
When Ariana Grande released “Break Free” pic.twitter.com/L5SSR9FMfu
— Jon (@prasejeebus) October 7, 2018
There were some other praise-worthy efforts, too
Other A Star is Born fans got even more creative. One pointed out Bradley Cooper’s musician role in Wet Hot American Summer, alongside Amy Poehler.
A STAR IS BORN (2018) | D: Bradley Cooper #OnePerfectShot pic.twitter.com/bo0bBkTi2h
— Will Goss (@williambgoss) October 3, 2018
Another took the whole thing to incredible lengths, and imagined the classic film as a love story between Miss Piggy and Kermit. It takes some dedication to remake the entire trailer.
Wow ANOTHER remake? pic.twitter.com/3eKheaY1OY
— Kevin T. Porter (@KevinTPorter) September 19, 2018
And as for this fan, he just sat back and marvelled at it all.
I've seen so many A STAR IS BORN memes and read so many A STAR IS BORN thinkpieces that I feel like I've already seen A STAR IS BORN.
— Steven Hyden (@Steven_Hyden) October 5, 2018
A Star Is Born is in cinemas now.