A terrific score coupled with exciting choreography, tight editing and a talented cast make Fame a joyous and upbeat experience.
Fame (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:101
Fresh:28
Rotten:73
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: Fame is ultimately undone by its choppy editing, its incomplete characterizations, and its apparent desire to appeal to the High School Musical generation.
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
US Box Office: $22,303,092
Synopsis:
A reinvention of the original Oscar®-winning hit film, Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a...
A reinvention of the original Oscar®-winning hit film, Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame...the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work.
In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, plagued by self-doubt, each student’s passion will be put to the test. In addition to their artistic goals, they have to deal with everything else that goes along with high school, a tumultuous time full of schoolwork, deep friendships, budding romance, and self-discovery.
As each student strives for his or her moment in the spotlight, they’ll discover who among them has the innate talent and necessary discipline to succeed. With the love and support of their friends and fellow artists, they’ll find out who amongst them will achieve Fame …
The cast includes Asher Book as Marco, Kristy Flores as Rosie, Paul Iacono as Neil, Paul McGill as Kevin, Naturi Naughton as Denise, Kay Panabaker as Jenny, Kherington Payne as Alice, Collins Pennie as Malik, Walter Perez as Victor, and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle as Joy. Their instructors include Debbie Allen as Principal Simms, Charles S. Dutton as Alvin Dowd, Kelsey Grammer as Joel Cranston, Megan Mullally as Fran Rowan, and Bebe Neuwirth as Lynn Kraft. --© MGM
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, Kay Panabaker, Bebe Neuwirth
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, Kay Panabaker, Bebe Neuwirth, Naturi Naughton
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Screenwriter: Aline Brosh McKenna, Allison Burnett
Studio: MGM
Reviews for Fame
Tancharoen does not bring anything particularly fresh or distinctive to the song and dance elements of the story, but the new group of students (led by possible star Kay Panabaker as Jenny) deliver credible-enough performances.
Not going to live forever. Not going to light up the sky like a flame.
The fragmented narrative of high school kids pursuing their dreams (job security) has just barely more feel and understanding of what it's like to be young than 17 Again .
Remember the theme song? "I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry . . . Fame/I'm gonna live forever/Baby, remember my name." Sadly, none of that applies to this hollow, impersonal movie.
Its lack of melodrama and shock value make it all the more refreshing. Consider this film a grittier, inner city cousin of HSM and that's no back handed compliment
A little too scrubbed and sanitized, with the sharper realities of showbiz sanded down to a PG level.
a totally unoriginal and unnecessary remake that runs far, far away from anything edgy, controversial or interesting.
Thing is, to live forever would mean the eventual re-remake of Fame. And that won't do.
The high school is so sanitized that there are no drugs, cutthroat competition, or—inconceivably for a theatrical milieu—no gay students.
The script doesn't earn the C average students must maintain for continued enrollment in their performing arts school.
Members of the class of ’80 struggled to stay in school despite homelessness and crime; the greatest crisis in ’09 finds a student’s Sesame Street work schedule affecting her GPA.
What "Fame" lacks in originality, it makes up for in heart. And that tips the ledger in my book.
Oh, MGM: I realize you're staving off bankruptcy, but is remaking past hits the answer?
I think the term 're-imagining' is code for 'dumbing down.' 'Re-imagining' may sound better, but the results are unchanged.
There are enough hoary soap-operatic plottings for a thousand Gossip Girls (emotionally distant parents, almost-rapes, suicide attempts), yet Tancharoen individualizes each crisis so that no one character comes off as a mock-universal surrogate.
Latest News for Fame
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...
September 20, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with Fame's Kevin Tancharoen
Though barely into his mid 20s, Kevin Tancharoen is, as the cliché goes, already something of an industry veteran. With a background in both dance and filmmaking, he's moved... More...
June 17, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: Fame ![]()
Following up on April's teaser, the "Fame" reboot now has a full-length trailer. Will it live forever? Head over to Yahoo! and see for yourself. More...
April 19, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
More...
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