Movie Review: Fame (2009)
I wouldn't look at this as a guide to stardom
Photo: MGM Studios
24 hours before walking into the 2009 remake Fame I sat down to watch Alan Parker's 1980 original, which was surprisingly well received by critics and not-so-surprisingly went on to win two Oscars for original score and original song on top of being nominated for four other Oscars including screenplay. While the Kevin Tancharoen-directed remake won't come close to following in those footsteps, it didn't grate on me as much as the original, if only because it was 30 minutes shorter.
The cast includes Thomas Dekker, Naturi Naughton, Collins Pennie, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Kay Panabaker, Kherington Payne, Walter Perez, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Debbie Allen, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, Megan Mullally, Bebe Neuwirth and Kathryn McCormick. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Fame" is a MGM Studios release, directed by Kevin Tancharoen and is rated PG for thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language. The running time is 1 hour 47 minutes.
However, I'm not sure how fair it is to compare the two films seeing how 29 years separate them. Then again, I'm sure that's where the film's audience will be divided. This is a dumbed down, PG, for-the-masses film hoping to benefit from those that loved High School Musical and think it will be Step Up 2 the Streets. As a matter of fact a couple of friends surprised me by showing up to the screening and when asked why, they told me because they love the Step Up films. Too bad this isn't Step Up or Step Up 2 the Streets, and strangely enough, that's a negative and one that will undoubtedly lead to disappointed audiences. In turn, the Disney Channel, easily pleased by made-for-TV audiences should be satisfied, but I can't imagine anyone coming out overly excited.
The biggest failure this film suffers from is its old fashioned idea of what it means to be famous. Sure, those looking to be professional dancers, ballerinas and classical musicians are following the right path, but when it comes to the desires of the core group involving a wannabe rapper, a hopeful music producer and a confused daddy's girl we aren't talking about the fame of nearly 30 years ago, we are talking about the attitudes of today and in that sense the original was more fitting for its time.
A movie titled Fame in 2009 shouldn't be focusing on high school students working hard to fine tune their talents at a prestigious school, at least not one set to an upbeat hip-hop soundtrack. Instead it should focus on high school dropouts competing on the latest MTV reality show or competing for wooden idols on "Survivor." The idea of fame and celebrity has changed to the point a film like this is no longer relevant. It's not about talent any longer, it's about looks and self-promotion. It's about how many people you can piss off and how rich you can get off that agitation. Even those that do work hard look for cure-all, short-cuts such as "American Idol," which have become the preferred way to go. I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying it's reality.
Each scene in Fame is a cliche of a cliche, but lowered expectations allowed me to tolerate it more than I would have had I not watched the original the night before. Fame is by no means a good movie and outside of couple of uses of the word "shit" it has been watered down to the point it could play as an after-school special, which is really all it is.
Links from Other Sites You May Like
Showing 9 Comments
~ PLEASE NOTE ~
If, in any way, your comment is an attack on the author of this post or a previous commenter, your comment will be deleted without question.
Add a New Comment |
Click to Read Our Commenting Rules & Guidelines
Wow, Brad, I gotta tell ya, by the last 10 movies or so you've reviewed, it looks like another reason not to go to the theaters. I don't think they've even been rated a B…
I don't think you've got a high standard; I think your standard for movies is reasonable, but one can draw the conclusion nowadays that the more money studios spends on producing a movie…the worse it is. Perhaps its because executives and studios are trying to capitalize on remakes, sequels, and just generally creating movies for a profit, rather than saying, "You know what guys, let's get a good original script, and try to make it into a good movie. Whaddya say?"
But hey…it's working for them. The movie industry keeps making money, in fact it has made 7% more money this year than last year. So let the crappy movies keep on comin'…as long as the they're making money, right?
ugh, are you kidding me? A 'Fame' remake, this is just disgusting. I've heard nothing but horrible things about this film. For Pete's sake why can't they just leave the original classics, in the past and stop making horrible remakes for them. let the new generation of kids see what the real 'Fame' was like.
cant wait to see how the 'Footloose' remake will (and hopefully will) flop. -.-
7% more money this year? Even with Wolverine's lower than expected numbers, and G.I. Joe's as well? Besides Transformers 2 and Harry Potter, has anything even made over 500 million?
I must question this considering The Dark Knight, Prince Caspian, Hellboy2, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk all came out last year.
@Seiko: It's true if you're looking at the year to date numbers. Compared to this time last year, the box office has made 7% more. Check out this link for evidence: Boxofficemojo.com-YTD Comparison
Ok, well…. I just saw the movie, and it was AMAZING!!! the only bad thing about it, was that it was a little bit like other movies from now days… I think the best thing about it… was honesly, Naturi! She's amazing… and also, the MUSIC! THE MUSIC IS WHAT WILL MAKE THIS MOVIE FAMOUS because the music was awesome!! however, I would give the movie a B+/A-…. So maybe not quite that amazing, but still pretty damn good!!
@dylan: not to mention the karate kid remake.
The movie had such a good vibe in the early stages before we actually started to shoot it. In fact, it had such good energy going on, that it was a pity it ended up being cut-up/chop-chopped and 'sanitized'. There were a lot of scenes that unfortunately did not make the final cut. These scenes showed stories about true friendship, love, passion, relationships, sexuality, disappointments and successes in detail thru character development. Though the locked version was 'tamed down' because of the PG rating, a DVD directors cut would probably show the actual stories of the 10 different characters.
It seemed that Mr. Tancharoen forgot (maybe intentionally?) that he had 10 characters to develop. It appeared that there was concentration on one, Ms. Panabaker (and how could her character pass such a rigid audition?), Mr. Book, Mr. Pennie, Ms. Naughton (who sang very well) and Ms. Payne. Whatever happened to Mr. Iacono, Mr. McGill, Ms. Perez de Tagle, Ms. Flores (Did you notice her? what character did she portray?) and Mr. Perez? What are their life stories or experiences?
Being part of the crew, I witnessed a number of scenes where Joy (Anna Maria), Kevin (Paul McG, who plays a gay dancer…did you notice?) and Neil (Paul I, obsessed film maker) developed and established their friendship. There was a dramatic/touching scene where Joy and Neil made the whole crew shed tears and I thought that would have been a clincher in the film. But sad to say, it ended up in the editors bin. Ms. Perez de Tagle should have been given more substantial scenes. She really is a "Joy" to watch. If I may add, Mr. McGill as handsome as he is, should have been given the same opportunity. In my opinion, these three characters would have been able to show the true color of FAME.
Needless to say, Mr. Tancharoen should have captured the true essence of the "New York PA youth" by utilizing and developing all of his characters evenly. In my opinion, he could have done that, if he had chosen to do so. However, it seems that Mr. Tancharoen concentrated on just one character's development……….Jenny (Ms. Panabaker)….whom he had 'captured' and "captivated" way before the filming was over. Sad, utterly sad, but true.
Give it a chance, view it in it's entirety. Maybe a PG-13 rating would have made the FAME re-invention……….'live forever'
Thank you.
KW, Beverly Hills, CA
I was dragged to see this movie. It was awful. I was falling asleep and when I wasn't dozing off, I wanted to get out of there. Your review is right on. The movie accomplishes nothing. I wish I could have gotten a refund.
I loved the movie. Despite it's depressing/mellow/anticlimactic storyline, I thought it was inspiring. (As much as a PG movie can possibly be)
But then again it's probably because I'm in love with asher book.