Have you ventured into the movie theater to watch the bomb of the season? Joker: Folie à Deux has confounded film critics and fans alike, leading many to point fingers at its creators in hopes of finding someone to blame. Some hate its moroseness, others can't stand the showtune numbers or the entire song and dance idea. Still, in the middle of this ruckus, one name should be left out of the discussion. Lady Gaga is the best thing about the DC Comics musical, even if she's terribly underutilized by Todd Phillips. Indeed, many Little Monsters have taken to social media to catalog every shot seen in the trailer or behind-the-scenes footage that centered on Mother Monster but somehow didn't make it to the finished flick. One can only imagine that more Gaga would have done Folie à Deux a world of good.
Regardless, the singer turned movie star's latest production seems to consolidate her screen siren status. A Star Is Born was no fluke, and though House of Gucci didn't nab her a second Best Actress Oscar nomination, it didn't blemish her filmography too much. Which leads one to ask – what's Gaga's best leading lady turn? You can vote, after the jump…
For context, here are a few words on each performance and details of where you can watch the movies. After all, you might want to check back on them before clicking on the poll below.
A STAR IS BORN (2018) Bradley Cooper
The fourth iteration of Hollywood's favorite story about itself – fifth, if you include Cukor's What Price Hollywood? – saw Lady Gaga step into the shoes that Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand once filled. Not that her Ally has much to do with the Esther Blodgetts of yore. Though their arcs share a trajectory, Gaga tackles her character with an unvarnished naturalism at odds with Old Hollywood stylings and New Hollywood bravado. It's not the sort of performance you'd expect from a music star whose past acting gigs had leaned on the overt artifice of her stage persona. But with Bradley Cooper behind and in front of the cameras, authenticity was the name of the game, even when it revealed some of novice starlet fragilities. For her efforts, Lady Gaga received a Best Actress nomination and won the Best Original Song Oscar.
A Star Is Born is streaming on Max. You can also rent it on Apple TV, Amazon, the Microsoft Store, and Spectrum On Demand.
HOUSE OF GUCCI (2021) Ridley Scott
If A Star is Born had shown that Gaga could do more than what her early cameos and American Horror Story roles showcased, then House of Gucci proves she could go back to that register. Moreover, she was able to revisit the melodramatic excess with a new feverish sense of purpose, taking biopic acting to its maximalist zenith. Is she coherent with the movie Ridley Scott mounted around her Patrizia Reggiani? Maybe not, but the whole thing would be better if the director had tapped into Gaga's wavelength rather than the other way around. A divisive turn, it nevertheless got a lot of precursor support during the 2021/2 awards season. Indeed, she was the only Best Actress contender to score the golden combination of BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG nominations. Gaga only missed the Oscar. In other words, she was almost there.
House of Gucci is streaming on Tubi. You can also rent and purchase it on Apple TV, Amazon, and the Microsoft Store.
JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX (2024) Todd Phillips
In all honesty, calling Gaga's Lee Quinzel a leading lady part might be stretching the truth a tiny bit. Absent for large portions of the runtime, Mother Monster is often trapped in silent spectatorship, ever-watching in the background of Folie à Deux's many trial scenes. It's a testament to her talent that the performance survives this treatment, not to mention a plethora of underdevelopment issues piling on top of each other until her last scene. Still, Gaga perseveres, struggling against her project to deliver a shot of needed madness, the feminine grotesque as parasocial nightmare. She's electric and, whenever Lee takes center stage, the misbegotten Joker movie suddenly has a pulse. Out of everyone involved, Gaga is the only one who could take the near anti-cinema ideas that Phillips conjured and make something worth watching out of them.
Joker: Folie à Deux is currently in theaters. Stay tuned for news of its PVOD and streaming release dates. Its physical media editions hit stores this December.
With that out of the way, it's time to vote!
Please sound off in the comments, share your choice, and make the case for Gaga's best leading lady, big screen performance.