Nearly thirty years after its debut, Alan Parker's Fame remains, in its way, even fresher than its glossy 2009 remake
Fame (1980)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:19
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: In Alan Parker's FAME, teenagers selected for New York City's High School for the Performing Arts push their talents to the limit to make it big in show business. This episodic tale follows savvy... In Alan Parker's FAME, teenagers selected for New York City's High School for the Performing Arts push their talents to the limit to make it big in show business. This episodic tale follows savvy Coco (Irene Cara), timid Doris (Maureen Teefy), gay Montgomery (Paul McCrane), macho Raul (Barry Miller), soulful Bruno (Lee Curreri), and others as they struggle to achieve their dreams of stardom while coping with the universal teenage problems of loneliness, insecurity, and embattled, mercurial identity. Cara, electric as the budding songstress Coco, shines brightest in the infectiously exuberant young cast. The film, which won Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, overflows at each corner of its loosely unfolding narrative with inspired music and dance numbers that seem to burst forth spontaneously out of sheer irrepressible emotion. With FAME (later developed into a hit television series), Parker finds a happy medium between the wildly diverging tones of his previous two features, the goofy kids-as-gangsters musical BUGSY MALONE and the harrowing prison thriller MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, and in doing so creates an enjoyable, glittering portrait of guileless teenage ambition. [More]
Starring: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Billy Hufsey
Starring: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Billy Hufsey, Barry Miller, Paul McCrane, Maureen Teefy, Richard Belzer, Meg Tilly, Laura Dean
Director: Alan Parker
Director: Alan Parker
Screenwriter: Christopher Gore
Producer: Alan Marshall
Composer: Michael Gore
Reviews for Fame
Sadly, everything is predictable, which is to the detriment of the mostly fine, young talent that appears in this ineffective retread. I hope that their fame, unlike this film, isn't fleeting.
As Fame begins to unspool and you realize that the movie's a lot more endearingly grimy and profane than you recall...just blame it on that stupid TV knockoff.
A rambling, emotionally involving, and exuberent movie with flashes of cinematic poetry.
Latest News for Fame
April 03, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: Fame ![]()
They can sing and dance, but can they make you remember their names, thereby living forever? Watch the first trailer for MGM's "Fame" reboot and see what you think. More...
February 20, 2009:
Meet the Cast of the Fame Remake ![]()
Curious about the upcoming "Fame" remake? Satisfy your curiosity with new interviews with the cast and behind-the-scenes footage. More...
December 01, 2008:
Five Fame Faculty Added ![]()
Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Neuwirth and Debbie Allen have joined the cast of "Fame." More...
October 10, 2008:
Fame Remake Rounds Out Cast ![]()
MGM has decided who's gonna live forever: Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker, Kherington Payne, Collins Pennie, Walter Perez and Anna Maria... More...
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