'A Star Is Born' puts stirring spin on a classic Hollywood story

Late in the new version of A Star Is Born, Sam Elliott (in a sure-to-be Oscar nominated performance) delivers a powerful -- and very meta --monologue that describes the Bradley Cooper character's approach to music but also that actor-writer-director's approach to this material, which has been made three times previously since the 1930s.

Without spoiling anything, he essentially makes the argument that there are very few original stories to tell and its how someone chooses to tell their story that makes it compelling. Some may consider the dialogue to be a victory lap, but I thought it was the perfect summation of what Cooper has pulled off here. He doesn't necessarily reinvent the music-infused romantic drama, but he still manages to tell him own uniquely vital and moving story, one that is both sweeping and quietly effective.

For the uninitiated, A Star Is Born has the same relatively simple premise as is predecessors. Cooper, speaking in a drawl octaves below his normal speaking voice, is a fading blues rock star with a serious drinking and drugs habit, who both discovers and romances an unknown with remarkable talent, played with peak level movie star charm by Lady Gaga.

They have a courtship, a romance, a downfall, etc.-- all set to beautiful, catchy music -- that culminates with a deeply sad finale.

So far, so standard -- but then Cooper has many curveballs up his sleeve. First off, the casting of Gaga was a masterstroke. Not since Cher in Moonstruck, has a pop star had such natural acting talent and movie star chops. Gaga acts with her whole body and uses both her speaking and singing voice to tremendous effect, she is funny, sweet, sincere, believable and riveting.

I have yet to see a better showcase for her phenomenal singing, which reaches Whitney Houston levels of perfection here.

Her every musical performance here is transporting.

Cooper also stacks his cast with an incredible array of supporting performers, some in unconventional roles. Besides Elliott, as his long-suffering older brother/manager, you have Dave Chappelle and Andrew 'Dice' Clay stealing scenes, both comedic and dramatic, with their distinctly human rhythms.

The one misstep is the role of Gaga's scheming manager, which feels a little heavy handed for a movie as smartly paced and subtle as this one is.

Every element of this story can become gratuitous in the wrong hands (see the campy 1976 version as a case study of this) but Cooper puts just the right amount of panache into every scene. He lets the romance with Gaga and his character develop naturally and believably. He lets the musical performances suck you in and make no mistake you will have these songs in your head when its over.

And when the big emotional scenes come they feel truly earned, and not the least bit manipulative. Cooper, a solid actor who can sometimes show you too much of the effort he's putting into his performances, is far more at the top of his game here than he's ever been before. And while it's far too early to crown a Best Actor front-runner, I can easily see why he is a consensus choice.

He manages to be charming and seductive even when his character is a total trainwreck -- and he makes you care about a person who on paper is the epitome of privilege.

I imagine there will be an inevitable backlash to this movie for one reason or another. Not unlike La La Land, it is similarly whimsical about a mainstream music industry that long ago was in the decline, and it is an unabashedly old-fashioned Hollywood movie despite its frank sex scenes and positive embrace of the LGBT community, albeit on the periphery of the story.

But I think it'll be hard to diminish what Cooper has accomplished here. I am not entirely sure why he was drawn to this story and was determined to put his own personal stamp on it, but he has, and in doing so he just may have made the definitive version of it.