THE LOOK OF LOVE

Anyone who watched the Academy Award show this year knows about "the look." More specifically, the look between Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper during their performance of the song "Shallow." Immediately after, social media exploded with comments and speculations of their relationship.

"Oh, they're definitely doing it," was the general consensus. Or,

"If they're not doing it yet, they will be."

"They're so in love..."

Despite Bradley Cooper's girlfriend and mother of his child present in the front row, beaming up at them.

Women everywhere swooned over the way Cooper and Gaga gazed lovingly into each other's eyes while belting out lyrics. Ovaries pulsated, estrogen shot way up, and I imagine more than a few wives elbowed their husbands crying, "Why don't you ever look at me like that?"

We all know Hollywood is known for scandal, and if down the road, it comes out that these two co-stars did indeed have an affair during the filming of A Star is Born, well, I, for one, wouldn't be too surprised. But I don't think they did. 

As someone who used to act, I know what's necessary to make situations believable. And let me tell you, it would not be all that challenging to pretend to be in love with Bradley Cooper. Now I hadn't seen the film at the time of the awards show, but I watched it soon after. Despite Cooper's character looking like he could always use a shower and a haircut, one cannot ignore those baby blues, or that smile. 

This was Gaga's first film and she did a fine job. Cooper directed the film and he did a fine job as well. Their attraction to each other in the film is palpable and necessary in order to make the story believable and it comes across beautifully.

So, what does this mean? 

It means they're both consummate professionals who forged an amazingly tight bond during filming. An actress must trust her director implicitly, and essentially becomes like molding clay to him or her. It's the job of the director to coax the perfect performance from his lead actress, and Cooper succeeded.

While the Internet was on fire that night over "the look," I think it's safe to say Cooper and Gaga went home feeling immensely satisfied with their performance. Their goal was to show two characters in love from their Oscar-nominated film and they hit the mark indeed.

If you haven't seen their performance from that night, it's definitely worth a look.


Tiffany N. York is a writer living in SoCal who gets "the look" when she gazes at coffee and pizza. And baby animals. You can visit her website at tiffanynyorkauthor.com