Barbra Streisand's 'A Star is Born': It's Like Velveeta!

Streisand & Kristofferson: Two rockers in love in '76's 'A Star is Born.' No, this isn't a science fiction!

Way back when I was a teenager, before 24-7 media and the Internet, the making of 1976’s A Star is Born was still a major showbiz scandal. Barbra Streisand and her hairdresser-turned boyfriend-turned producer Jon Peters received reams of unflattering publicity for turning A Star is Born into an expensive ego trip. Though a typical Streisand commercial success, the reviews were scathing. As a junior old movie buff, I stuck with the ‘54 Judy Garland version and never saw Streisand’s Star until this summer, 2017!

At least Kris LOOKS the part of a rock singer. Barbra, in hippie chick mode.

The leap of faith it takes to believe country songwriter/croaking singer Kris Kristofferson as a legendary Jim Morrison-type rock star seems reasonable when later faced with Barbra Streisand as an aspiring rock star. I will keep calling them Kris and Barbra, because they pretty much bring their own personas to the film. Not to mention that their characters have the most non-musical star names ever: John Norman Howard and Esther Hoffman. The ’76 version was supposedly striving for realism, but they sound like people who work in an office cubicle.

The opening scenes of Kris’ huge concert, pre-CGI era, are awe-inspiring. The buildup of the impatient fans, the frantic entourage, and the late-arriving superstar is a promising start. But when Kris' starts caterwauling, it's all over.

Gettin' down with her bad self. As 1/3 of The Oreos, guess what part Babs plays?

After a debacle performance, Kris decides on an afterglow at a club where Barbra performs. Streisand at 34 is the world's oldest up-and-coming singer, following in the footsteps of a 32-year-old Judy Garland (looking far from fresh) as a singing starlet, and similarly aged Lady Gaga in the upcoming remake. Odd that A Star is Born always picks huge, established stars to play showbiz newcomers. In this 70’s version, Streisand as Esther is part of a trio, flanked by two black chicks, called The Oreos! After a fight caused by a fan of Kris’ breaks up the show, the two flee in his limo. Not wanting to be a one-night stand, Streisand invites him to breakfast.

We only get one look at Esther's apartment, but it’s divine, as those voice-over jingles and nightclub gigs must really provide plenty of dough for a 1930’s era pad with plenty of antiques. Streisand's never-ending wardrobe changes run the gamut, straight from her closet, according to the credits. Some are shabby chic, the tailored suits are Ralph Lauren, while others look like Laura Ingalls meets Frida Kahlo, with one hippie getup that makes her look like Luke Skywalker.  And Streisand, a huge fan of that ‘70s backlighting trend, often looks like she’s either sporting a halo or is on fire.

Streisand Skywalker in a wardrobe test from 'Star.'

At least Babs didn't have a light saber!

The oft-filmed A Star is Born story gets the Cliff Notes version here: Kris and Babs fall immediately in love for no apparent reason, but their careers and fame thwart their happiness. Kris literally flames out, and Streisand musically soars without him.

'Star' remake is about an addicted southern rocker 
& his pop star wife, who wants to rock...hmm!

Even worse, is when he later pushes Streisand onstage to sing at an Indian fundraiser. Expecting to rock out to Kris, Streisand wins the unruly crowd over with her over-emoting power ballad. Rock and pop didn’t exactly work in real life for Cher and Gregg Allman, when they attempted to tour together in the ‘70s. But in Barbra’s movie reality, a star is improbably born.

With the exception of the undeniably catchy superhit Evergreen, Star’s music ranges from elevator variety to cringe-worthy. Streisand's endless power ballads don't exactly rock, and Kris' rock anthems are anemic, even more so when Streisand sings his signature tune Watch Closely Now at the finale. Babs rocking out is like watching a drunk mom at karaoke night.

Like most Streisand movies, Babs is surrounded by big talent, but they are often reduced to background scenery. Kris seems there only for Streisand to obsess over. The motivations for Kristofferson character’s behavior are barely explored. Why does his character drink so much? Habit? Boredom? Insecure? Why didn’t somebody just ask Kris, who was still drinking and drugging at this point? His alcoholism is used only to set up dramatic confrontations for Streisand to show off in.

Kris Kristofferson was the real star that was born in this movie.

 Kristofferson actually gives a naturalistic, charismatic performance. It would be easy to say Kris is just playing himself, but he’s not just going through the motions. Kristofferson is the anchor to reality here. Ultimately, it's all about Barbra: her mugging, her rapid-fire line delivery, her tears, her singing, etc. Even during Kris' death scene, the camera’s focus is on her, with her face and hands obscuring him. At the end, she comes out and rouses the audience with a seven-minute take of two songs, ending with Watch Closely Now, Kris’ signature song. Tribute, or Barbra’s version of Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better?

Watch closely now and you might see Kris in his death scene!

Don’t get me wrong. While I am not a huge Barbra Streisand fan, I respect her great talent and versatility. Streisand is in great voice here and her musical finale, sung live, is technically a musical marvel—especially in our current era of lip-synching and auto-tune. Certain singers are natural actors—and this includes Barbra. Streisand won an Oscar for her debut in Funny Girl. I think Barbra should have won her second for a great dramatic turn in 1973’s The Way We Were. By the time Streisand filmed A Star is Born, less than a decade after Funny Girl, she had already become an over-acting and over-singing egomaniacal movie star.

'A Star is Born' was Barbra's first bonafide vanity project.

In an unprecedented move, Pierson wrote a blow by body blow account of the making of Star BEFORE the movie was released, for New West and New York magazines—which infuriated everyone involved. Streisand later claimed to feel professionally betrayed. The article actually praises Streisand’s talent to the heavens and Pierson is glowing when the star is aligned with the rest of the production. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen often and he was worn down by Streisand’s ego, temper, self-centeredness, constant meddling, indecision, and stubbornness. 

READ HERE: http://barbra-archives.com/bjs_library/70s/new_west_battles_barbra_jon.html

Ego maniac? Who, me?

And it wasn’t like Barbra was working with hacks here: Kris went on to become a popular movie star for the next decade. A platoon of well-regarded writers came and went. Director Pierson won an Oscar for his Dog Day Afternoon screenplay during Star’s production. Streisand complained that cinematographer Robert Surtees was too old (a three-time Oscar winner, 16 times nominated) and ran roughshod over highly-regarded Polly Platt’s production design. Numerous songwriters were subjected to Streisand’s “collaborating” on their songs, including the late, great Leon Russell.

Robert Englund aka Freddie Krueger, as Kris #1 fan!

Here’s some amazing Barbra Streisand’s Star Wars trivia… I mean A Star is Born trivia: Revered essayist Joan Didion had a hand in writing this, with husband/author John Gregory Dunne. I bet that Didion’s contributions were buried early on, given the flurry of rewrites and “contributions” courtesy of Streisand and Peters. Director Paul Mazursky acts, and gives one of the film’s best performances as Kris’ manager. There are some cool, uncredited cameos. Robert Englund aka Freddie Krueger, is the unruly fan who hassles superstar Kristofferson during Streisand’s show. And Maidie Norman, Baby Jane's antagonist/housekeeper Elvira, is the Justice of the Peace presiding over Kris and Babs’ wedding!

Is this version of A Star is Born watchable? Hell, yes—especially if you have low expectations or enjoy high camp. Bab’s A Star is Born is not like buttah…it’s like Velveeta.

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. 

Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/

No! Watch ME Closely Now!

Redford & Streisand: Memorable in 'The Way We Were'

Robert Redford & Barbra Streisand: The romantic dream team of the '70s.

Ever re-watch a movie from your youth to see if it still lives up to your memory? I watched The Way We Were for the first time since the Barbra Streisand-Robert Redford epic romance came to our small town Upper Michigan theatre in late 1973. I went with my sister, who thought Redford was a dreamboat. I thought he was just okay, but he was enjoying a run of popular pictures that we went to see: Jeremiah Johnson, The Sting, The Great Gatsby, and The Great Waldo Pepper. The Way We Were still holds up—so well, that I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t gotten the bright idea to remake the romantic saga. If you live long enough, every favorite movie or TV show of your youth will be recycled! Still, it was a surprise to find that Robert Redford turned 80 on August 18, 2016.

Streisand & Redford Together! The studio's point of view.

The Way We Were was one of the first “nostalgic” films of the ‘70s, covering the Streisand-Redford couple from mid-‘30s college life to mid-‘50s Hollywood and New York. Streisand shines as activist Katie, who grates on people’s nerves as much as Redford’s cool school hero Hubbell charms them. These two opposites definitely attract. When they talk about great chemistry in movies, The Way We Were should be used as a textbook example. Funny girl Streisand freely admitted to having a crush on Redford, who handled it with typical class—which worked for the movie’s dynamic. The rapport between Streisand and Redford gives this film its enduring strength.

Redford's bellbottoms & 70s hair made it in the movie!

Streisand signed first and Redford was everyone’s first choice for Hubbell. Redford turned the role down repeatedly, as he felt Hubbell was a weak character. As much as I respect Redford, he has a history declining great parts that were outside the leading man box: Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Benjamin in The Graduate, and Guy in Rosemary’s Baby. Even with Sydney Pollack, his favorite director and friend, on board, Redford held out. Pollack had to wear Redford down before he finally agreed. Redford said over the years that Hubbell felt one-dimensional, with no flaws to play off of. The reality was, that as filming progressed, Redford’s character became more sympathetic, which infuriated screenwriter Arthur Laurents, who wrote the original story. Still, this is one of Redford’s best performances, as the college jock turned writer. In a cut scene, Hubbell tells Katie about being sent to classroom to classroom as a child, with a note from a teacher, and he soon becomes the teachers’ pet. When he looked at the notes, it read, “Did you ever see such a smile?”

"College boys" Bradford Dillman & Robert Redford with two starlets on the rise:
Susan Blakely & Lois Chiles.

This has also been Robert Redford’s dilemma. Redford was one of the first stars to shy away from his good looks, yet falling back on them as needed. In The Way We Were, Redford is at his blond best and flashes that toothy smile, whether in uniform, sweaters, or swimwear. Yet, Redford, never an over-actor, is subtle in showing his discomfort with Streisand’s character constantly prodding him to do the right thing.

The Red Scare and Blacklist-era scenes were trimmed in favor of romance.

Streisand is perfect in the role of Katie Morosky, probably because Laurents wrote it with her in mind. Though Katie’s heart is in the right place, Streisand isn’t afraid to be unlikeable when Katie gets on her soapbox and browbeats those around her. A college Communist, Katie’s past comes back to haunt her when Hubbell goes to Hollywood as a screenwriter. The Red Scare soon sweeps Hollywood, and their friends and colleagues are facing the infamous blacklist. In one of the film’s best scenes, Katie and Hubbell have it out after facing an angry crowd in Washington. Hubbell is pragmatic, predicting that the controversy will ultimately prove pointless, with everything going back to the status quo. Katie accuses him of ducking the issue, saying, “People are their principles!” Hubbell responds by sending glasses flying from a table. This is a telling scene, with Redford and Streisand respectively standing in for Pollack, who wanted to cut it, and Laurents, who fought to keep it in.

Director Sydney Pollack with stars Streisand & Redford in a '70s moment.

The Way We Were is a fine romance and to a point, a compelling drama. The filming was problematic because the romance and drama soon competed for storytelling and screen time. According to Laurents, Pollack favored Redford and the romance, whereas Laurents and Streisand favored the film’s political drama. Pollack was under pressure from Columbia Pictures to deliver a hit movie, given such a stellar star pairing. Pollack says that there were two previews for The Way We Were, one with cuts to political content, and one without. He claimed that the version with the focus on romance and cutting the politics was the preview audiences preferred.

Streisand as Katie, after a '40s glam makeover.

Robert Redford, rockin' the man in uniform look!

Still, the flaw that keeps The Way We Were from film classic status is its choppy continuity. A sweet scene that was cut is when Katie drives by a college activist rally after leaving a blacklisted friend’s house. She literally sees her past self and realizes that she doesn’t fit in with the conformist Hollywood crowd. But the worst cuts are with Katie and Hubbell, who overcome huge differences to stay together, yet appear to break up over sex with an ex on Hubbell’s part, which comes out of nowhere. One was a great scene where Katie clears the air by saying Hubbell’s career can’t afford a politically subversive wife. And since Katie won’t name names, she makes the final break between them. Pollack concedes that not only Laurents, but also Redford and Streisand were unhappy with the cuts, feeling it softened the picture. Not to mention the film’s flow, since The Way We Were suddenly goes from the couple’s domestic woes in Malibu to the closing scene years later, where Katie runs into Hubbell on the streets of New York City.

Sydney Pollack directing his stars.

Watching Sydney Pollack interviewed as to why he made such cuts lessened my admiration for him as a director. Like Mike Nichols and Sidney Lumet, Pollack started in acting and became a director who was great with actors and chose smart material. But Pollack didn’t have the guts to tell the studio to trust the film’s integrity. In a way, Pollack rationalizations mirror Hubbell’s. Nichols fought similar battles on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate. And Lumet was a director of such strength and social conscience that no studio would even think of telling him to delete controversial material. Maybe that’s why despite classy crowd-pleasers like Tootsie and Out of Africa, there isn’t a culture-changing Network or The Graduate on Pollack’s resume.

Bittersweet farewell: Streisand came up with the recurring bit of her brushing away Redford's blonde bangs.

Still, how about that ending? Katie is back to where she started, taking it to the streets with her activism, and Hubbell, now with a blond, silent wife. The movie ends with Hubbell and Katie having a private moment, acknowledging their paths will not pass again, except perhaps by chance. Streisand and Redford play this scene beautifully, and then the famous theme song swells up. I remember a lot of tissues coming out back in 1973!

Laughter through tears, moviegoers' favorite romantic emotion!

Funny how some of Hollywood’s greatest love stories have such sad endings: Scarlett and Rhett’s marriage not worth a damn in Gone with the Wind, Montgomery Clift gets the electric chair instead of Liz Taylor in A Place in the Sun, and Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster’s beach romance is all washed up by the end of From Here to Eternity.

Redford was 37 as a college boy in 
"The Way We Were's" first scenes. The meter 
was already running on the sequel possibility.

For years after, there was much talk of a sequel to The Way We Were. Eventually, too much time had passed for a feasible film follow-up to Katie and Hubbell’s love story. The talk had been so on-going that when Barbra presented Redford with a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2002, he said to her onstage, “I guess this is the sequel, huh, Babs?”

About a decade later, Oprah Winfrey reunited Streisand and Redford for an interview. Redford put it best when asked about the continued interest in a sequel to The Way We Were: “I just felt certain things should be left alone, and this was one of them.”

Bonus: Deleted scenes from The Way We Were: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDfdzcLD1s4
FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/