If I’m not here tomorrow it’s because I’ve been taken out by the Little Monsters. Please know I LOVED Lady Gaga in A Star is Born, more than Bradley Cooper, actually. I just can’t get behind Lady Gaga at the Golden Globes, dress and all. 

By now we all know that Lady Gaga’s dress was a tribute to Judy Garland, who starred in the 1954 version of the film. It’s a lovely sentiment. The loveliness of the sentiment, however, doesn’t guarantee a lovely look. Gaga is always going to come strong with the drama. We were all expecting drama. She’s made a career out of drama. Provocative drama. That’s my problem with this look – there’s no edge. It’s a Valentino with a long train in prom blue. Taffeta. Basic. Some might say “old Hollywood”. OK, if that’s the case, if we’re going with “old Hollywood”, well then I’m not sure you can stick with the blue hair. And if the blue hair stays, then why not give us NEW Hollywood and not a sock bun? Isn’t that a sock bun? Like that sh-t you order off the TV from informercials? What I’m trying to say is that it’s incongruent. It’s incongruent because, if every outfit has something to say, and Gaga has always said something through fashion, the way I interpret this outfit is that it feels like she’s trying to wear it like she’s trying to be taken seriously as an actor. But the thing is… she’s already an actor, a good actor. She is SO GOOD in A Star is Born. She doesn’t have to work to dress like it. 

 

There was something to that in her whole vibe last night. Gaga and Bradley Cooper were the first presenters off the top of the show right after Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg’s opening. The energy was set by the hosts, the room was in high spirits. And then Gaga and Coop come out … totally flat. Monotone. It brought the vibe way down, right? Gaga is a live performer – she KNOWS how to hold a crowd, she is a professional at holding the crowd. One of the very best at holding a crowd, better even than most of the people at that show, as evidenced by the fact that some of them could barely make it through a prompter read. That instinct didn’t kick in though; rather it seemed like it was muted, that she muted it…and it brings to mind when this project was first announced, they credited Gaga not as Lady Gaga but as “Stefani Germanotta”, so as to differentiate between Gaga, the pop superstar, and Stefani, the actor. That decision was reversed later on but when I was watching her last night, I thought about that initial distinction and I wonder if some of that is in play right now, in the heat of award season, as she’s contending for Best Actress. Which she was expected to win last night. 

Early on in the season, like even as far back as Cannes, Glenn Close was the prediction. Glenn has steadily lost momentum. No one’s been talking about her in the last couple of months. She was in as a nominee, sure, but most of the conversation was around Gaga and Olivia Colman (who looked gorgeous in that chain mail black dress) – and at the Globes, with the Hollywood Foreign Press starf-ckers, Gaga is exactly the kind of star they love to f-ck. They’ve already given her an acting award – a couple of years ago, for American Horror Story. With Olivia in the Comedy/Musical category, most people were calling for it to be Gaga in the Drama category. That’s why Glenn’s win is being called a “shock”. No one was more shocked than Glenn:

And then she got on stage and THREW DOWN for the Oscar with that speech. That was Glenn Close knowing she’s back in the game and f-cking going for it. Remember, all award shows leading up to the Oscars are like rehearsals for the Oscars. They’re auditioning. They’re telling the Academy – here’s what I will do it if you pick me. Glenn Close has been nominated 6 previous times for Oscar; she’s won none. You want to play the “due game” with Amy Adams or anyone else? I mean, few are more “due” than Glenn. 

Like I said, the ASIB team might be recalibrating their strategy now and that includes Lady Gaga’s campaign strategy. What does that look like? I hope it doesn’t continue looking like blue taffeta and sock buns. Bring the full Gaga to this race. She’s proved that she can act with them, we see it in the movie. So what is it that Gaga has that they don’t have? There can be 100 actors in the room but only one can do what Gaga can.