"Fame"

Fame, a remake of the 1980 classic, follows ten kids through NYC’s High School of Performing Arts. Like the first, we watch not just the pursuit of a dream, but also the unfortunate side of the craft: the casting couches, the rip-offs, the dangers of dressing like William Shakespeare and standing innocuously in front of the public library.

    There are three types of high school students: the Ivy League-bound who excel at all things academic; those that enjoy statistics and calculate their probability of securing an above-the-median salary; and those that daydream in biology class about how cool it would be to just jump up on the lab table and dance.
    Fame follows ten who dream; ten with the discipline, the determination, the tough skin, and the talent to make it at the famous Manhattan alternative high school (and beyond). From audition day to graduation, we watch as these performers work, play, interact, and introspect.
    Among the theater crowd, the original Fame is sacrosanct; and, in general, you either like this kind of film or you don’t. That said, Fame is a good remake of a good film. That doesn’t happen very often and while this one’s not complex, it’s definitely more gritty and passionate than what we tend of see in the genre.
    The music is fresh. Yes, there is a hokey obligatory “hot lunch jam,” but it cleverly synthesizes a wide spectrum of performance styles: a classical violinist, an argument in the corner that morphs into a hip-hop rap. There’s even a place for the tap dancer.
    Everyone in Fame, more or less, has their moment in the spotlight, but two standout: aspiring actress Jenny Garrison (Kay Panabaker) and drama teacher Mr. Dowd (Charles S. Dutton). Panabaker is a relative newcomer. Dutton, of course, is an accomplished, but often underrated, actor. Other veterans include Bebe Neuwirth and Kelsey Grammer. Debbie Allen, of the original cast, has a cameo that we could have done without. (Was Irene Cara busy?)
    There are some entertaining scenes in Fame – students testing their mettle on the karaoke stage and comical auditions reminiscent of The Rock’s Elliot Wilhelm in Be Cool – but the film is not for everyone. There’s one poignant moment, for instance, when singer Denise Dupree (Naturi Naughton), in a music producer’s office, spots one of Lauryn Hill’s platinum records and subtly registers a thrill. Some people get that. Just being in the same studio. That whiff of fame. You just … you just … feel like breaking out in song.

3 Honks
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810033914/trailer

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Comments

[Los Angeles]

I enjoyed the film, it was nice.