IMDb > Fame (2009)
Fame
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Photos (see all 36 | slideshow) Videos (see all 44)
Fame (2009) -- The official Fame music video.
Fame (2009) -- A remake of the 1980s musical centered on the teachers and students at the prestigious New York City High School of Performing Arts.
Fame (2009) -- A clip from the movie Fame.
Fame (2009) -- Movieplayer.it - Italian Featurette (Flash)
Fame (2009) -- Interview: Bebe Neuwirth "On what attracted her to the project"

Overview

User Rating:
4.3/10   2,158 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 41% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Kevin Tancharoen
Writers (WGA):
Allison Burnett (screenplay)
Christopher Gore (1980 motion picture "Fame")
Contact:
View company contact information for Fame on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 September 2009 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance more
Tagline:
Dream It - Earn It - Live It more
Plot:
An updated version of the 1980 musical, which centered on the students of the New York Academy of Performing Arts. | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Three New Films Arrive D.O.A. At Box Office
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 28 September 2009, 2:13 PM, PDT)
Blue Skies for 'Cloudy,'Hazy Starts for 'Surrogates,' 'Fame'
 (From BoxOfficeMojo.com. 27 September 2009, 11:23 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Fame - An Unfortunate Snoozer more (38 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kay Panabaker ... Jenny Garrison

Naturi Naughton ... Denise Dupree

Kherington Payne ... Alice Ellerton

Megan Mullally ... Ms. Fran Rowan

Bebe Neuwirth ... Ms. Kraft

Debbie Allen ... Ms. Angela Simms

Asher Book ... Marco

Cody Longo ... Andy Matthews

Walter Perez ... Victor Taveras

Charles S. Dutton ... Mr. James Dowd

Kelsey Grammer ... Mr. Martin Cranston

Collins Pennie ... Malik Washburn

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle ... Joy
Paul McGill ... Kevin Barrett

Paul Iacono ... Neil Baczynsky
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
107 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
USA:PG (certificate #45461) | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:PG | Australia:PG | Norway:A | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Sweden:Btl | Hong Kong:IIA | UK:PG
Filming Locations:
Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
United Artists more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A photo is shown of Ms. Kraft (Bebe Neuwirth) with Broadway stage legend, Chita Rivera. Rivera notably played the role of Velma Kelly in the original 1975 Broadway production of "Chicago". Neuwirth also played Velma Kelly when "Chicago" was revived on Broadway in 1996. Both actresses received Tony Award nominations for their portrayals of the same character. Neuwirth went on to win the honor. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Mr. Cranston asks Denise to be the accompanist for the school's upcoming production of "Chicago". In the year 2009, this would not be possible since the licensing company which handles the theatrical rights for "Chicago" restricts the show from being produced (even by amateur groups and schools) anywhere in the greater New York area while there is an open-ended production running on Broadway. more
Quotes:
Joel Cranston: [from trailer] You have talent. Now let's see what we can do with it. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show (2009) (TV) more

FAQ

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "Fame" based on a book?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
54 out of 69 people found the following comment useful.
Fame - An Unfortunate Snoozer, 24 September 2009
3/10
Author: OgyJoe from Nashville, Tennessee

I remember when I was younger I enjoyed the original Fame movie. Although I currently can't remember anything about the movie at all, save for the theme song. Tonight I got the chance to see the sneak peek of the 2009 version. Overall, I wasn't impressed. What was wrong with the movie? 1.) The plot…or lack thereof. There were so many "main" characters, that the scenes just jumped from one to another without any real cohesion. Sometimes there were even two scenes going on at the same time with the camera flashing back and forth between the two.

2.) The timeline. Before each "section" of the movie, you got a title like "Freshman Year", "Sophomore Year", "Junior Year", and "Senior Year". This would have been fine if they spent any time in these years. Instead, they went by so fast that the title just threw off the pace. For example, you get introduced to the characters and see "Freshman Year". Then you get to see their insecurities and character flaws all over the course of one day. The next day is "Sophomore Year" and the characters have made no forward progress since day one of freshman year. The movie could have been vastly improved by simply stripping out these time stamps.

3.) Character development. Tied to the first two problems with this movie is the character development. There is so much going on and time passes so fast that you don't really get to see much development of many of the characters. I understand there is only so much time in the movie, but that could have been resolved by reducing the number of "lead" characters. If you reduced the number of people we had to keep track of, we'd be able to see more how those characters evolve, and care more about them in the end.

4.) Lack of resolution. None of these characters really show any sign of improvement until the last scene in the movie, and then we still get no resolution on how things turned out. The last scene is graduation and we have no idea if any of these people amounted to anything after that. Very few even make mention to what they MIGHT be doing after the movie ends. Heck, I would have even settled for the lame freeze frame with written text explaining what people went on to do (which is a pretty cheesy cheat out of writing a resolution to your story as is).

5.) Predictability and memorable characters/scenes. I am going to lump these two issues together, because they go pretty much hand-in-hand. the movie from beginning to end was pretty predictable. There were absolutely zero surprises within. As a result, there was very little memorable about the movie. In fact, without looking at IMDb, I couldn't name a single character in the movie.

So was there anything good about the movie? I guess for what it was, it was an okay movie. No real surprises, and nothing you are going to remember any length of time from now (which is maybe why I don't remember the first movie). But I did enjoy the gratuitous completely unrealistic cafeteria jam session on day one of Freshman Year. And some of the cast music (which I assume was mostly original…at least nothing I've heard elsewhere) was good. Actually, I would have been okay if it was just one jam session after another, because I kinda dug that cheesy scene. Otherwise I say that if you are really interested in this movie, or perhaps a fan of the previous one, wait for the DVD. There are much better movies you could spend your money watching, especially since tickets are so high these days.

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Remember my name. chesterprynne
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AWESOME BLACK AND GOLD SCENE! lil_alex_8
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Dancers who act. rachel111393
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