I really enjoyed seeing how talented they were, and it gets you feeling rhythmic. At first, I thought it was going to be a good movie, seeing how the auditions went. But, after that part and they went onto freshman year, I got a little disappointed. They showed the students' problems, and what they're going through to make it to be famous, but it almost seems like the director got bored of the movie itself, and just skipped through a lot in the movie. You don't see how the students' problems were faced and how they were solved, you first see them upset, and then at the end, they're happy and ready to graduate? That's not a very good plot, actually, there isn't a plot at all. I am upset with the movie, but the dancing was great. Overall, it really was enjoyable.
92 Reviews
Go in expecting a collection of enthralling dance numbers and you will be walking out a satisfied customer
Troy_Campbell30 September 2009
Kevin Tancharoen's rambunctious first feature film (after directing a series of music TV shows like "The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll") isn't as mawkish or amateur as you may expect. He may not have Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg looking over their shoulders, but Tancharoen clearly knows how to shoot a dance sequence. Thankfully he understands what the audience want from a movie like this and it isn't lengthy conversations or scenes to showcase the young stars' acting chops, we want exceptional dancing mixed with an ear-pleasing soundtrack. From that standpoint this first-timer delivers.
We meet the characters during the introduction as they audition for a spot in the highly sought-after academy, each one of them showing their obvious skills over a well crafted montage that establishes the tone for the rest of the movie. From there we go from one rhythmic set piece to another, of varying enjoyment levels, with the absolute highlight coming from a Halloween party boogie at the halfway point. The gigantic finale goes for broke however doesn't quite reach the heights it should. Also worth noting is Tancharoen's ability to ensure non-dance enthusiasts (like myself) will be entertained no matter what art form is on display; those who think they could never take pleasure in ballet just try and not be entranced with the routine led by the lithe Kherington Payne in the second half.
Every film needs a plot and character arcs mind you and this is where Fame's failings become quite evident. The massive ensemble cast is simply too big; trying to follow the amount of individuals on offer is often frustrating. When you start to like someone they disappear for 30 minutes whilst we see the other dozen or so stories unfold, and only randomly do they intersect each other. Of the young cast Kay Panabaker, Asher Brook and Paul Iacono are the pick whilst the wise and wonderful teachers are best served by Bebe Neuwirth and Charles S. Dutton.
So how much is the final result affected by the hit-and-miss acting (the romantic scenes between the teens are excruciating), unfocused screenplay and ridiculous reasons to break out in song and dance? Not all that much to be honest. A film that can be this fun to watch doesn't deserve to be hung up on faulting elements such as these. Go in expecting a collection of enthralling dance numbers and you will be walking out a satisfied customer.
3.5 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)
We meet the characters during the introduction as they audition for a spot in the highly sought-after academy, each one of them showing their obvious skills over a well crafted montage that establishes the tone for the rest of the movie. From there we go from one rhythmic set piece to another, of varying enjoyment levels, with the absolute highlight coming from a Halloween party boogie at the halfway point. The gigantic finale goes for broke however doesn't quite reach the heights it should. Also worth noting is Tancharoen's ability to ensure non-dance enthusiasts (like myself) will be entertained no matter what art form is on display; those who think they could never take pleasure in ballet just try and not be entranced with the routine led by the lithe Kherington Payne in the second half.
Every film needs a plot and character arcs mind you and this is where Fame's failings become quite evident. The massive ensemble cast is simply too big; trying to follow the amount of individuals on offer is often frustrating. When you start to like someone they disappear for 30 minutes whilst we see the other dozen or so stories unfold, and only randomly do they intersect each other. Of the young cast Kay Panabaker, Asher Brook and Paul Iacono are the pick whilst the wise and wonderful teachers are best served by Bebe Neuwirth and Charles S. Dutton.
So how much is the final result affected by the hit-and-miss acting (the romantic scenes between the teens are excruciating), unfocused screenplay and ridiculous reasons to break out in song and dance? Not all that much to be honest. A film that can be this fun to watch doesn't deserve to be hung up on faulting elements such as these. Go in expecting a collection of enthralling dance numbers and you will be walking out a satisfied customer.
3.5 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)
Baby, Remember My Name
thecinemaview2 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The 1980 original, "Fame", was a gritty depiction of life at a public performing arts high school in New York City. The 2009 remake, "Fame", is a puff piece, never daring to handle any of the intense (yet still relevant) subject matter that was handled so eloquently by its predecessor. Rather than abortion and sexual assault, it focuses on stuff like troubled teen love and disapproving parents. Staying well within the parameters of its PG-rating (the original was rated R), it lacks the edginess and aforementioned grittiness that defined the film it emulates and, instead, closely resembles something that Disney might have produced as a vehicle for the likes of Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers. Fortunately, I like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers...and, all flaws aside, I surprisingly enjoyed "Fame". It is not the important and relevant film than it probably wants to be, but it is a fun, well-made, and nicely-acted display of its young stars' undeniable talent.
Read My Full Review Exclusively At: www.thecinemaview.blogspot.com
Read My Full Review Exclusively At: www.thecinemaview.blogspot.com
Fame - An Unfortunate Snoozer
OgyJoe24 September 2009
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.
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.
They should officially change the name to LAME.
cre8ed23 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
okay.... so first things first.... I was invited to the N.Z. premiere tonight in Auckland of the new "Fame" reboot or remake or whatever you want to call it. I thought free food, a few celebrities to stalk and some free beers and then the movie to end it all, sounds like a good night. I grew up with the 80's fame on t.v. I saw Leroy rocking it weekly on screen... so yeah I was interested to see how they re-branded this film for the new millennium. To be frank, I was not expecting "Fame" to be an academy award masterpiece but I was still very intrigued after watching the trailer, the music sounded cool, the atmosphere seemed a little charged the trailer was cut nicely... but sadly... thats where all the excitement ended in the trailer.....
This movie is b- to- the -oring.!! BORING! So I will be mentioning some spoilers so stop reading here if that's an issue for you.... got an issue grab a tissue.
Basically they take a bunch of very talented up and coming singers, dancers, actors etc and they cram 4 freaking years of this elusive, over the top, hardest school in the world to get accepted to into a roughly 90 minute film. Every 25 minutes was one year.. starting with a "freshman year" title on the screen... then about 25 minutes later fade to black and "sophomore year" then about 25 minutes later "junior" etc etc... this spread the movie extremely thin... although the leads hair grew longer or haircuts changed so you knew they were older and more mature.
They have the cliché young black guy who is full of torment and angst that his father left him, who sits all melancholy in the stairwell while everyone else is in the cafeteria dancing on tables and plugging in guitars and hitting bongos. There is the young black woman who is being forced to play classical piano by her parents when all she really wants to do is be free and sing her heart out... because no one cares about her needs. There is the typical geeky video guy who always seems to have a camera in his hands when you see him, the gay male ballet dancer who no matter how hard he tries cannot cut it and impress his teacher.... blah blah blah and the young girl actress wannabe singer who starts singing in a little tiny voice all shy and quiet, so you would expect that bam she will find herself and come out of her shell like her teachers have been telling her the ENTIRE 4 YEARS!!!!! BUT NO.... nothing changes... she doesn't get a big voice, stays wooden and timid and shy... I mean seriously I thought this school was supposed to be only accepting the best of the best! They just spent the first 20 minutes showing us auditions and having the school principal tell everyone that thousands audition but only a few hundred are accepted!! There are so many cheesy moments, from the black guy saying "aiightt" to the "I just want my parents to be proud of me" to the boyfriend "I'm just going to sing to you and give you a big hug and then cartoon rabbits will come out and doves will lower a silk scarf around your neck and there will be world peace and God bless you tiny tim"... what?!?! Okay so maybe I'm going a little over board but there was more cheese in this then a stuffed crust pizza from domino's.
I think the biggest problem with this film is you walk away with a "who cares" mindset. The fact that they have approx. 10 main roles and follow them for their four years of tuition which is crammed into 90 minutes of movie is so thin... you just don't care about the characters at all because you don't get to know them. Each person maybe gets about 15-20 minutes screen time max. Then you are left wondering so what about him or what about her or did she make the album or did he get kicked out or did they stay together or how did the father handle the news????!? The story is not interesting, it extremely average, there is ZERO edge to this reboot.... no pizazz no hype no excitement. It's plain dull.
I'm sure that young girls aged between 5-13 will like this, is this who 'fame' is catered towards??? I mean if tweens is the fame target demographic then it may do okay for a week or two. Sadly the biggest audience reaction from tonight's "Fame" premiere was when the "New Moon" trailer screened before the start.
Some good things..... The singing is amazing... the dancing is as you would expect incredible but over all that's it. The acting a big thumbs down, I came away from this feeling like it was a very expensive made for TV movie. The story is all over the place, spread top thin and unlike the trailer again I say there is no edge, It's like a pilot for a new TV series... actually.... is that what it is suppose to be?!?
FAME is LAME!
This movie is b- to- the -oring.!! BORING! So I will be mentioning some spoilers so stop reading here if that's an issue for you.... got an issue grab a tissue.
Basically they take a bunch of very talented up and coming singers, dancers, actors etc and they cram 4 freaking years of this elusive, over the top, hardest school in the world to get accepted to into a roughly 90 minute film. Every 25 minutes was one year.. starting with a "freshman year" title on the screen... then about 25 minutes later fade to black and "sophomore year" then about 25 minutes later "junior" etc etc... this spread the movie extremely thin... although the leads hair grew longer or haircuts changed so you knew they were older and more mature.
They have the cliché young black guy who is full of torment and angst that his father left him, who sits all melancholy in the stairwell while everyone else is in the cafeteria dancing on tables and plugging in guitars and hitting bongos. There is the young black woman who is being forced to play classical piano by her parents when all she really wants to do is be free and sing her heart out... because no one cares about her needs. There is the typical geeky video guy who always seems to have a camera in his hands when you see him, the gay male ballet dancer who no matter how hard he tries cannot cut it and impress his teacher.... blah blah blah and the young girl actress wannabe singer who starts singing in a little tiny voice all shy and quiet, so you would expect that bam she will find herself and come out of her shell like her teachers have been telling her the ENTIRE 4 YEARS!!!!! BUT NO.... nothing changes... she doesn't get a big voice, stays wooden and timid and shy... I mean seriously I thought this school was supposed to be only accepting the best of the best! They just spent the first 20 minutes showing us auditions and having the school principal tell everyone that thousands audition but only a few hundred are accepted!! There are so many cheesy moments, from the black guy saying "aiightt" to the "I just want my parents to be proud of me" to the boyfriend "I'm just going to sing to you and give you a big hug and then cartoon rabbits will come out and doves will lower a silk scarf around your neck and there will be world peace and God bless you tiny tim"... what?!?! Okay so maybe I'm going a little over board but there was more cheese in this then a stuffed crust pizza from domino's.
I think the biggest problem with this film is you walk away with a "who cares" mindset. The fact that they have approx. 10 main roles and follow them for their four years of tuition which is crammed into 90 minutes of movie is so thin... you just don't care about the characters at all because you don't get to know them. Each person maybe gets about 15-20 minutes screen time max. Then you are left wondering so what about him or what about her or did she make the album or did he get kicked out or did they stay together or how did the father handle the news????!? The story is not interesting, it extremely average, there is ZERO edge to this reboot.... no pizazz no hype no excitement. It's plain dull.
I'm sure that young girls aged between 5-13 will like this, is this who 'fame' is catered towards??? I mean if tweens is the fame target demographic then it may do okay for a week or two. Sadly the biggest audience reaction from tonight's "Fame" premiere was when the "New Moon" trailer screened before the start.
Some good things..... The singing is amazing... the dancing is as you would expect incredible but over all that's it. The acting a big thumbs down, I came away from this feeling like it was a very expensive made for TV movie. The story is all over the place, spread top thin and unlike the trailer again I say there is no edge, It's like a pilot for a new TV series... actually.... is that what it is suppose to be?!?
FAME is LAME!
to quote --- http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/movie-review-fame-2009#comments
starrybucks828 September 2009
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 Kevin 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
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 Kevin 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
A Nutshell Review: Fame
DICK STEEL25 September 2009
I had watched the original Fame movie when I was a kid, enough to know the theme song sung by Irene Cara, but little else. Fast forward to today, I'm pretty sure I still enjoyed the reworked theme song, but the film unfortunately is a disaster, with predictable story lines, cardboard characters, and while I'm quite OK that it may have tried to be more documentary like in its presentation, it just fell short on almost all accounts, save for some of the set musical pieces.
Despite its hip trailer aimed specifically at its demographic audience, the film just didn't work out, and tried too hard to resemble plenty of dance movies already out there, except that it did a lot more worse by injecting too many characters having everyone bear the brunt of the burden in carrying the film through its runtime, through supporting role appearances at best. Having cast a relative bunch of good looking unknowns also helped in providing the fresh-facedness required, but it's akin to watching a bad episode of American Idol, except that you don't get to choose who stays and who goes.
Granted it wanted to be more "School like" encompassing all the various subjects taught from dance to acting, in quite an elitist fashion in getting mere hundreds amongst thousands of applicants, and if quality control was so stringent, it provided critical flaws to the plausibility of the show. For one, these characters are talented folks, and it's just no good treating talented folks like toddlers in school, picking on every little thing they do wrong in hoping to polish those rough diamonds. Also, the screening of candidates, while provided some Audition hilarity, was mostly based on the whims of the various instructors, hence the kind of petty issues they dredge up for themselves, like the angry actor who thought the stage was his calling, throwing tantrums and in need for some serious counselling.
But the most critical flaw of them all, for a movie in its genre, is whence the buildup and character development? We're suppose to believe that after their graduation they're all "ready to make it" in the big, bad, unforgiving world of fine art performance. Unfortunately the output's pretty much the same as the input, save for a few characters who turned into perfect gems overnight, with nary any focus on their transformation. The best just coasted through school, while the worst (amongst the best) turned in much better performances through the sprinkle of magic dust or through the rubbing of shoulders. There must be something in the diet served by the school's canteen as well it seems.
Fame fell short and became plain, formula, predictable, and ultimately boring. The screenplay reeked laziness - who needs yet another teenage movie where it tells you that even the best amongst us suffer from trouble dished out by disapproving parents, romantic relationship roadblocks, yet another naive girl becoming bait for hot looking predatory guys, wanting to fulfill a deep desire and break out of routine, discrimination, trust and integrity. The list just goes on, no thanks to individual cardboard characters being assigned some thematic homework, and turning in the results in little episodes and scenes, without allowing the audience to build any emotional connection, or to even root for the underdogs.
It's ambitious too in its setting, taking on the entire school journey of these select group of youngsters, albeit without a real story, nor gelling them together in one coherent way. Technically, director Kevin Tancharoen (who had so far done music videos) and cinematographer Scott Kevan had opted for the shaky cam technique, for what reasons I do not fathom, and came off quite irritatingly. Someone should start preaching the virtues of mounting the camera of a tripod, versus making it a lame excuse to want to do it documentary style, or to allow for fluid motion in capturing the performances, not!
The only saving grace here, are some of the performances, be it group dance ensembles, or solo acts. I had preferred the former a lot more for their energy and choreography, and amongst all the disciplines, I personally enjoyed the dances a lot more, compared to the others like acting, or even singing, due to the rather lacklustre tunes and mediocre lyrics.
This is one film that I'd rather not remember its name, and could be called anything else other than a remake of Fame.
Despite its hip trailer aimed specifically at its demographic audience, the film just didn't work out, and tried too hard to resemble plenty of dance movies already out there, except that it did a lot more worse by injecting too many characters having everyone bear the brunt of the burden in carrying the film through its runtime, through supporting role appearances at best. Having cast a relative bunch of good looking unknowns also helped in providing the fresh-facedness required, but it's akin to watching a bad episode of American Idol, except that you don't get to choose who stays and who goes.
Granted it wanted to be more "School like" encompassing all the various subjects taught from dance to acting, in quite an elitist fashion in getting mere hundreds amongst thousands of applicants, and if quality control was so stringent, it provided critical flaws to the plausibility of the show. For one, these characters are talented folks, and it's just no good treating talented folks like toddlers in school, picking on every little thing they do wrong in hoping to polish those rough diamonds. Also, the screening of candidates, while provided some Audition hilarity, was mostly based on the whims of the various instructors, hence the kind of petty issues they dredge up for themselves, like the angry actor who thought the stage was his calling, throwing tantrums and in need for some serious counselling.
But the most critical flaw of them all, for a movie in its genre, is whence the buildup and character development? We're suppose to believe that after their graduation they're all "ready to make it" in the big, bad, unforgiving world of fine art performance. Unfortunately the output's pretty much the same as the input, save for a few characters who turned into perfect gems overnight, with nary any focus on their transformation. The best just coasted through school, while the worst (amongst the best) turned in much better performances through the sprinkle of magic dust or through the rubbing of shoulders. There must be something in the diet served by the school's canteen as well it seems.
Fame fell short and became plain, formula, predictable, and ultimately boring. The screenplay reeked laziness - who needs yet another teenage movie where it tells you that even the best amongst us suffer from trouble dished out by disapproving parents, romantic relationship roadblocks, yet another naive girl becoming bait for hot looking predatory guys, wanting to fulfill a deep desire and break out of routine, discrimination, trust and integrity. The list just goes on, no thanks to individual cardboard characters being assigned some thematic homework, and turning in the results in little episodes and scenes, without allowing the audience to build any emotional connection, or to even root for the underdogs.
It's ambitious too in its setting, taking on the entire school journey of these select group of youngsters, albeit without a real story, nor gelling them together in one coherent way. Technically, director Kevin Tancharoen (who had so far done music videos) and cinematographer Scott Kevan had opted for the shaky cam technique, for what reasons I do not fathom, and came off quite irritatingly. Someone should start preaching the virtues of mounting the camera of a tripod, versus making it a lame excuse to want to do it documentary style, or to allow for fluid motion in capturing the performances, not!
The only saving grace here, are some of the performances, be it group dance ensembles, or solo acts. I had preferred the former a lot more for their energy and choreography, and amongst all the disciplines, I personally enjoyed the dances a lot more, compared to the others like acting, or even singing, due to the rather lacklustre tunes and mediocre lyrics.
This is one film that I'd rather not remember its name, and could be called anything else other than a remake of Fame.
Not that bad.
Yellow_Zinc11 October 2009
Well, it is not easy to squeeze 4 years of things in a movie which is only 107 minutes. It probably won't be nice for some people because the movie had no focus. There are many little stories in the whole movie. For example, between Jenny and Marco is a little love story. Although the movie is about the arts school, the setting for most of the movie is outside school.I think that Asher Book, who stars as Marco is pretty hot. (but because he only sings in the movie, it does not make him stand out a lot. If he had danced, I believe that a lot of girls will like him a lot.)Kay Panabaker is a great actress, not to mention beautiful. Naturi Naughton is an amazing singer who has lots of power. I thought that the end of the movie could have include more dancing, but it's still alright. The movie has to include many characters' story, and probably because of that, it has somehow lost its focus. But overall, the movie is still OK. Those who are more inclined to arts (music, dance, sing) will probably like it more.
Fame seems pretty awful
forchristsake926 September 2009
Don't be fooled by the trailers, Fame is not as dazzling and inspiring as it may seem. Strip away the fancy lighting, music and camera work and you're left with nothing less than a cast of one dimensional, mundane, and unlikeable characters. The movie doesn't give enough time for any of the characters to develop and therefore, I ended up feeling like I barely knew the characters at all, even at the end of the film. I don't even think I could name all of them. The actual script and dialogue is not any better and the plot feels forced and irrelevant to what the movie claims to be about. From the looks of it, no one in the movie is cut out for actual "fame" with the exception of Payne's character who is portrayed as an arrogant and selfish dancer. The cast had a lot of potential to become very likable characters but because of the poor script, their performances fall flat and feel fake. I entered the movie with hopes of being entertained even if it was on a strictly "crowd pleaser" level. I left feeling like I had just wasted an hour and a half of my life learning that "success is love." There are no real resolutions to any of the character's trials and tribulations. Life must suck at this performing arts school because no one learns anything particularly profound or life changing. Don't waste your time with this movie, and if you still want to, at least wait for it to come out on DVD. The large screen, dark theater, and popcorn won't make this movie any better than the dud that it is.
Entertaining.
poultrygirlaleka25 October 2009
I can't really understand why everyone's making such a fuss about what a bad film this is- maybe it's because the stage production's so good.
Taken out of that context, this is actually a pretty decent film, especially if you're planning to watch it with kids. The singing/dance numbers are great, and there are some really fun scenes. Granted, the story doesn't string together very well- it's very bitty.
However, I don't think it's at all deserving of the bad rep it's been getting; if you don't go in expecting something Oscar-worthy, you'll probably enjoy yourself. There's a lot of talent in here, and if you try to compare it to the previous incarnations, you're not going to see it.
Taken out of that context, this is actually a pretty decent film, especially if you're planning to watch it with kids. The singing/dance numbers are great, and there are some really fun scenes. Granted, the story doesn't string together very well- it's very bitty.
However, I don't think it's at all deserving of the bad rep it's been getting; if you don't go in expecting something Oscar-worthy, you'll probably enjoy yourself. There's a lot of talent in here, and if you try to compare it to the previous incarnations, you're not going to see it.
Screenwriter Bit Off More than he/she could Chew
ryan_mccafferty27 September 2009
Definitely, a niche movie that only relates to teens already in the performing arts. To me it felt like the writer crammed 4 seasons of Degrassi or all 3 High School Musicals into 140 minutes. All in all, there wasn't a sufficient amount of time to flesh out any aspect of the movie.
Way too many characters. Dull musical numbers. Bland choreography. Uninteresting AND unnecessary romantic subplots.
The movie should have focused more on the professional growth of each student over the course of freshman year by really spotlighting the student/teacher dynamic.
Instead the movie flaunts the futile personal endeavors of each student over a four year span at a prestigious academy. So by the end, the high school backdrop felt completely pointless because the students learned absolutely nothing to separate their senior level experience from the original insecurity of their auditions.
Way too many characters. Dull musical numbers. Bland choreography. Uninteresting AND unnecessary romantic subplots.
The movie should have focused more on the professional growth of each student over the course of freshman year by really spotlighting the student/teacher dynamic.
Instead the movie flaunts the futile personal endeavors of each student over a four year span at a prestigious academy. So by the end, the high school backdrop felt completely pointless because the students learned absolutely nothing to separate their senior level experience from the original insecurity of their auditions.
In the light of Art school films, just more development!
brownah1813 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
If you're thinking this is just another Step-Up, Save the Last Dance, or Raise Your Voice, you're wrong, but there are definite similarities. This features a school for the arts, much like the other film, but this one goes through a bit more character development.
Everyone has to audition to see if they have what it takes to get into the school. Starring Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammar, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles Dutton, and other stars that aren't really well known to me. The bigger names are all teachers who help the students with their musical and acting talent. This movie gets into what families struggle through to get their kids into a really good school. Including making hard decisions and in the end letting them make their own choices. Relationships are tested and if you really care about someone, you will not let anything get in the way. This movie may seem dull at first, but it was a good one to watch and might just be more exciting than the others I have mentioned.
Everyone has to audition to see if they have what it takes to get into the school. Starring Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammar, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles Dutton, and other stars that aren't really well known to me. The bigger names are all teachers who help the students with their musical and acting talent. This movie gets into what families struggle through to get their kids into a really good school. Including making hard decisions and in the end letting them make their own choices. Relationships are tested and if you really care about someone, you will not let anything get in the way. This movie may seem dull at first, but it was a good one to watch and might just be more exciting than the others I have mentioned.
Closer to reality.
pineapple_lollies4 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I just saw Fame today and as i do with every film after i see it, i come on to IMDb to see what others think of it. Not much to my surprise, this film has been hit with a lot of criticism and that was to be expected. But this is my opinion of what i thought of Fame.
I'm not going to compare this to the first one. In all honesty, everyone knows the original is always the best. But Fame was different. This Fame, it stepped in to reality. While a lot of people may fail to see this, it is true. Because this is the truth for a lot of young kids out there who try to make it. In each character we see a different story. And it's most likely a story of someone who's facing that out in the real world.
I see this close to reality because this will be me in a month. Auditioning for dance and acting at tafe. This movie, although i know is nothing like what i will probably go through, showed me possibilities, circumstances and many things i'll most likely have to face like the kids in this film did.
Each characters story opened my eyes. The successful ones, you could feel for their happiness, while the ones who weren't as successful, i could see that it would hit close to home. Having to go through the hard work, suffer through the late nights, the achievements and the ones who fell short. This is what's happening or what is going to happen to many teenagers around the world and Fame showed us this in a way closer to reality than many other films.
Although a lot of people are bagging it for not having the right story line, for having crap actors, for having bad dancing and singing. I also think a lot of those people wouldn't know what it's like to go through this. I heard that they wanted this Fame to be as close to reality as possible. Hence, the new actors, the dance moves, the singing and the acting. They were not trying to do the same as the old Fame. They were bringing it in to the world of today. They wanted it to be closer to reality and if that's what they were aiming for, they got it spot on.
I'm not going to compare this to the first one. In all honesty, everyone knows the original is always the best. But Fame was different. This Fame, it stepped in to reality. While a lot of people may fail to see this, it is true. Because this is the truth for a lot of young kids out there who try to make it. In each character we see a different story. And it's most likely a story of someone who's facing that out in the real world.
I see this close to reality because this will be me in a month. Auditioning for dance and acting at tafe. This movie, although i know is nothing like what i will probably go through, showed me possibilities, circumstances and many things i'll most likely have to face like the kids in this film did.
Each characters story opened my eyes. The successful ones, you could feel for their happiness, while the ones who weren't as successful, i could see that it would hit close to home. Having to go through the hard work, suffer through the late nights, the achievements and the ones who fell short. This is what's happening or what is going to happen to many teenagers around the world and Fame showed us this in a way closer to reality than many other films.
Although a lot of people are bagging it for not having the right story line, for having crap actors, for having bad dancing and singing. I also think a lot of those people wouldn't know what it's like to go through this. I heard that they wanted this Fame to be as close to reality as possible. Hence, the new actors, the dance moves, the singing and the acting. They were not trying to do the same as the old Fame. They were bringing it in to the world of today. They wanted it to be closer to reality and if that's what they were aiming for, they got it spot on.
FAME? I think not.
taiiiintedlove25 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Fame was quite a let down I must say. I feel like I've just wasted about 2 hours of my life and $10 on a movie that I literally got up to use the bathroom during and had no drive to return to the theater other than it being my friends birthday. To start, there were so many main characters I didn't even catch half their names during the movie...except when there was some overly dramatic (yet insanely slow paced and boring) scene about how they were leaving school in which case their name was no longer important because their character was eliminated. It was hard to connect or feel any type of emotion for any of the characters because they were so disconnected and their background stories (if they had any) were incredibly vague. Needless to say I felt nothing when that one boy whose dancing career would supposedly amount to nothing contemplated suicide, he should have jumped, it would have brought something into this story. Its almost as if the people who created Fame felt some sympathy for every Broadway reject who couldn't make it into the chorus or background of a real show. Their careers will probably amount to just being "Dancer #1" in the credits of a movie. The singers, while very talented, were just showcased off for that. I have a feeling that this was the peak of their performance and in about two years time each will have a solo album thats being sold for $7.99 at the checkout line at your local Kmart. There is so much more to be said about this movie, but I feel like its being to harsh. Simply put: Fame sucked.
Yet another failed remake
Wizard-828 April 2015
Apart from the fact that this movie looks slicker and more technically accomplished than the original 1980 "Fame" movie, this remake is inferior to the original in every way you can think of. Of all the problems in the movie, I think the worst is the fact that NONE of the characters - students or teachers - is fleshed out sufficiently. The movie crams in so many characters that it doesn't have time to follow any for a decent length. The lack of a human angle probably explains why the movie doesn't have any bite - I remember the original movie had more grit and drama. This even extends to the musical/dance numbers - the music is instantly forgettable and the dancing is at its best mediocre. What the movie ends up being is very boring, even if you choose to watch the theatrical cut over the extended cut. Stick with the original movie.
A Remake of a Classic 80's film,that falls flat quick.
raysond2 October 2009
There is a general consensus that remakes are in trouble. The remake of "Fame" even though it masquerades as a reinvention,is no exception. The last time "Fame" was in theatres was in back in 1980. With the direction of Alan Parker,and at the time an unknown cast,this was indeed a preppy tale trailing a bunch if gifted kids at the prestigious New York performing arts high school had some electrifying energy as well as some incredible musical numbers and some pizzaz. The movie also introduce some newcomers at the time including the theatrical debut of a teenage looking Irene Cara. That was back in 1980. What was once fresh and innovative and newly created then is now tired and dull,not to mention a lack of interest. And it shows in this new version,which was hyped up during its theatrical trailer is hopeless and completely pathetic. Basically the film follows the same exact formula.
You have thousands of teenagers that are united by the same dream: attending the New York High School of the Performing Arts. Over Ten-Thousand auditions,200 places-which was a very selected school where only one in a chance are accepted where survival is the fittest to succeed. In this version,every student thinks that he or she has a special talent and from there the culture reeks with everyone's sweaty desire to accomplished the impossible goal......the desire for fame. The style of this film opens like an American Idol-esquire opening with the scene proves otherwise. Other flaws are abound in this movie and it shows in this remake in which my opinion should haven't been tampered with or remade in the first place. First,there are flaws that are cringe-worthy attempts to take some of the material out of its original context. Unsure whether it wants to be a "mock" documentary,or just drop trou and be a musical,this film falters on both counts. The only time the screen jolts awake are moments when the director Kevin Tancharoen finally and actually lets someone perform. The film does have some real talent. Naturi Naughton excels as an aspiring singer and Kherington Payne shows some innovative and unbelievable moves to music of some of today's hottest pop and R&B talents.
But the rest of it really falls flat. And some of the cast members that includes Broadway and Tony-award winner Bebe Neuwirth, along with Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammar, Charles S. Dutton, and Debbie Allen cannot save this picture. Not even the cameo appearance by Irene Cara(who was in the original film along with Debbie Allen)wasn't even the risk. All the singing and dancing can't skew the fact that none of the unknowns cannot act a lick, a fact that which ruins the point of doing a classic 1980's flick like this in the first place. The fact that this film needed actors and a narrative that could have save this picture because the dancers and singers are just brilliant,and it could have save this picture from falling forward. By the way,where are the gay people here? The ones that aren't ready to commit suicide? Who remembers Leroy?
You have thousands of teenagers that are united by the same dream: attending the New York High School of the Performing Arts. Over Ten-Thousand auditions,200 places-which was a very selected school where only one in a chance are accepted where survival is the fittest to succeed. In this version,every student thinks that he or she has a special talent and from there the culture reeks with everyone's sweaty desire to accomplished the impossible goal......the desire for fame. The style of this film opens like an American Idol-esquire opening with the scene proves otherwise. Other flaws are abound in this movie and it shows in this remake in which my opinion should haven't been tampered with or remade in the first place. First,there are flaws that are cringe-worthy attempts to take some of the material out of its original context. Unsure whether it wants to be a "mock" documentary,or just drop trou and be a musical,this film falters on both counts. The only time the screen jolts awake are moments when the director Kevin Tancharoen finally and actually lets someone perform. The film does have some real talent. Naturi Naughton excels as an aspiring singer and Kherington Payne shows some innovative and unbelievable moves to music of some of today's hottest pop and R&B talents.
But the rest of it really falls flat. And some of the cast members that includes Broadway and Tony-award winner Bebe Neuwirth, along with Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammar, Charles S. Dutton, and Debbie Allen cannot save this picture. Not even the cameo appearance by Irene Cara(who was in the original film along with Debbie Allen)wasn't even the risk. All the singing and dancing can't skew the fact that none of the unknowns cannot act a lick, a fact that which ruins the point of doing a classic 1980's flick like this in the first place. The fact that this film needed actors and a narrative that could have save this picture because the dancers and singers are just brilliant,and it could have save this picture from falling forward. By the way,where are the gay people here? The ones that aren't ready to commit suicide? Who remembers Leroy?
FAME - maybe not
missige2 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Okay, having seen the original Fame a number of times and having sung the theme song aloud in public on a few embarrassing occasions, I guessed that I would probably not be a big fan of the Fame re-make. But, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer awfulness that was this film.
Two friends from work and I went to go see it and all three of us sat there, mouths open in disbelief that this piece of twaddle actually made it onto the big screen (or any screen).
There is absolutely nothing endearing to say about this poor, scum of a film that managed to plummet the legend that is FAME into a murky puddle of repulsive acting, uninspired singing and dancing and sheer lack of substance. The characters are uninteresting, and unbelievable (apart from the classically trained pianist turned singer, none of the other PA kids have an ounce of real talent). I can't even recall the names of any of the characters, because I was that uninterested in their over-the-top, cheesy, teenage angst performances. I found myself upset that the kid with the imitation flock of seagulls haircut was saved from jumping in front of a subway train.
I feel for former Frasier star Kelsey Grammar, whose cameo performance aptly reflects his regret at agreeing to this shoddy piece of cinema, and the under-used, and abused Megan Mullaly who got my only snicker of a laugh throughout the entire film for a sarcastic remark.
As for the story lines - they were weak, poorly-developed (at one point the blonde ballerina, who we think may have been dating one of the PA students, just disappears from the film and no one seems to notice or care). The characters of Marko and his pretentious, overly-acted girlfriend had all the cheese, and none of the chemistry (read acting talent) to pull off an honest romance.
As for the choreography, simple, pedestrian and definitely not what you would expect from the top performing arts students in the country. Personally, the burlesque, slutty dance performance towards the end of the film was in poor taste and, in my opinion, a meager attempt by the director to gain some audience interest - sadly to no avail.
Dance films are supposed to inspire and have a general reputation of feel-good cinema, and all Fame made me feel was anger - at one point my friend actually drop-kicked the screen (I am not exaggerating).
To the scriptwriters who wrote this film, the producers who commissioned it, the director who took it on, the future D-List actors who were cast in it, and everyone who contributed in some way to the making of this film - you should be ashamed ...
Two friends from work and I went to go see it and all three of us sat there, mouths open in disbelief that this piece of twaddle actually made it onto the big screen (or any screen).
There is absolutely nothing endearing to say about this poor, scum of a film that managed to plummet the legend that is FAME into a murky puddle of repulsive acting, uninspired singing and dancing and sheer lack of substance. The characters are uninteresting, and unbelievable (apart from the classically trained pianist turned singer, none of the other PA kids have an ounce of real talent). I can't even recall the names of any of the characters, because I was that uninterested in their over-the-top, cheesy, teenage angst performances. I found myself upset that the kid with the imitation flock of seagulls haircut was saved from jumping in front of a subway train.
I feel for former Frasier star Kelsey Grammar, whose cameo performance aptly reflects his regret at agreeing to this shoddy piece of cinema, and the under-used, and abused Megan Mullaly who got my only snicker of a laugh throughout the entire film for a sarcastic remark.
As for the story lines - they were weak, poorly-developed (at one point the blonde ballerina, who we think may have been dating one of the PA students, just disappears from the film and no one seems to notice or care). The characters of Marko and his pretentious, overly-acted girlfriend had all the cheese, and none of the chemistry (read acting talent) to pull off an honest romance.
As for the choreography, simple, pedestrian and definitely not what you would expect from the top performing arts students in the country. Personally, the burlesque, slutty dance performance towards the end of the film was in poor taste and, in my opinion, a meager attempt by the director to gain some audience interest - sadly to no avail.
Dance films are supposed to inspire and have a general reputation of feel-good cinema, and all Fame made me feel was anger - at one point my friend actually drop-kicked the screen (I am not exaggerating).
To the scriptwriters who wrote this film, the producers who commissioned it, the director who took it on, the future D-List actors who were cast in it, and everyone who contributed in some way to the making of this film - you should be ashamed ...
What a waste of time!
ashtonskakle30 September 2009
I haven't seen the old version, so i can't compare it to the old version.
Before i went in i wasn't expecting much, to me it looked like a hip-hop dance film, which would be pretty similar to the likes of Step Up 2: The Streets. But i was pleasantly surprised to see it was not another remake of Step up, but equally disappointed to find no real interest in this film. Not only did two people i went with fall asleep, the characters were so unlikeable, i felt myself coming out the cinema wondering why i spent my time even going.
Strip away the fancy lighting, music and camera work and you're left with nothing less than a cast of one dimensional, mundane, and unlikeable characters. The movie is only 90 minutes long and with 10 main character story lines to follow, there wasn't much depth to them. I don't think i can even name any of them.
I don't even know why any of the characters would want to go study at this preforming arts school to start with, none of them seemed to improve during the four years they study there. And also a big emphasis is made how lucky they are to be in this school, yet most of the main characters leave the school before the four years is up...i didn't get that point? And the most important disappointing factor in the whole movie - there was no hot male lead! Only one guy came close and even then he wasn't much of a looker. Definitely a thumbs down for that aspect of the film.
So overall Fame is not as dazzling and inspiring as it may seem and it was pretty much a waste of 90 minutes of my life.
Before i went in i wasn't expecting much, to me it looked like a hip-hop dance film, which would be pretty similar to the likes of Step Up 2: The Streets. But i was pleasantly surprised to see it was not another remake of Step up, but equally disappointed to find no real interest in this film. Not only did two people i went with fall asleep, the characters were so unlikeable, i felt myself coming out the cinema wondering why i spent my time even going.
Strip away the fancy lighting, music and camera work and you're left with nothing less than a cast of one dimensional, mundane, and unlikeable characters. The movie is only 90 minutes long and with 10 main character story lines to follow, there wasn't much depth to them. I don't think i can even name any of them.
I don't even know why any of the characters would want to go study at this preforming arts school to start with, none of them seemed to improve during the four years they study there. And also a big emphasis is made how lucky they are to be in this school, yet most of the main characters leave the school before the four years is up...i didn't get that point? And the most important disappointing factor in the whole movie - there was no hot male lead! Only one guy came close and even then he wasn't much of a looker. Definitely a thumbs down for that aspect of the film.
So overall Fame is not as dazzling and inspiring as it may seem and it was pretty much a waste of 90 minutes of my life.
This may not live forever but it's good enough as a one-off
dudedazzreviews7 October 2010
If any of you are wondering, this is not like High School Musical. Shockingly, this is a very good remake (well, I wouldn't say it's a remake but an updated version but many people call it a remake). The students are very likable and the acting is so-so, the actress who stuck out with her fantastic singing voice was Naturi Naughton and her version of the songs "Out Here On My Own" and "Fame" were brilliant. The dance sequences were phenomenal and actually made you want to get off your seat and join them. The storyline was good and it sent the usual message this type of movie sends and delivers the whole 'you can make it if you believe in you' message which worked as it would in this movie.
I'm genuinely surprised as this was better than I expected it to be but it's not better than the original. My criticisms are that one or two of the actors had their moments of great acting and then it went to poor however this wouldn't put you off the movie as the singing and dancing triumphs. Another criticism is that there wasn't enough Naturi Naughton for me, I wanted to hear her sing more, her voice is phenomenal! For me, I thought it was fantastic and I'm shocked at how much I liked it. If you're a fan of the 80's Fame, then you'll love this! This is two hours of feel-good fun.
Read more reviews at: www.dudedazzmoviereviews.wordpress.com
I'm genuinely surprised as this was better than I expected it to be but it's not better than the original. My criticisms are that one or two of the actors had their moments of great acting and then it went to poor however this wouldn't put you off the movie as the singing and dancing triumphs. Another criticism is that there wasn't enough Naturi Naughton for me, I wanted to hear her sing more, her voice is phenomenal! For me, I thought it was fantastic and I'm shocked at how much I liked it. If you're a fan of the 80's Fame, then you'll love this! This is two hours of feel-good fun.
Read more reviews at: www.dudedazzmoviereviews.wordpress.com
Fame; It Wont Last Forever
wwefreakjon29 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
"What was the point of making this movie?" I continually asked myself this question during the 107 minutes after the previews were over. There were 10 main characters, none of which have enough screen time (not that their acting talent merited more) to make you care about them. It is so filled with old teen and musical movie clichés that the plot can be predicted by the time the "freshman" sequence is over.
Fame is about the New York City High School of Performing Arts and 200 students who spend four years of their lives going there. That is the plot and then there are all the different characters whose stories are so stereotypical that they have all been told in another movie at some point. There is the under-privileged, talented, black boy from the ghetto who falls for the girl who's a piano virtuoso but really just wants to sing, but her father won't let her, the uptight white girl who finds a guy who helps her loosen up, the director who gets scammed out of $5000, the guy who isn't talented enough to make it and tries to kill himself, and so many more.
The characters are all completely one dimensional except for the teachers, who have some substance but not enough screen time to make you care about them more than you care about the students. The writing is very limited and the direction is no better than most of the other dance movies to have some out in the past five years. The choreography wasn't bad but you can find much better in other films (i.e Take the Lead). The high points of this film are the cinematography and the film editing which were very good, but you forget about the look of the shots after all the mindless droning of the characters.
The only suggestion I could give to the producer's would be to take the cast of the faculty (which included Kelsey Grammar, Bebe Neuwirth and Megan Mullay of 90's sitcom fame) and some of Sinclair's dancers, actors, and singers to launch a TV show. That would at least have some talent and would be worth spending the hour a week to watch.
Fame is about the New York City High School of Performing Arts and 200 students who spend four years of their lives going there. That is the plot and then there are all the different characters whose stories are so stereotypical that they have all been told in another movie at some point. There is the under-privileged, talented, black boy from the ghetto who falls for the girl who's a piano virtuoso but really just wants to sing, but her father won't let her, the uptight white girl who finds a guy who helps her loosen up, the director who gets scammed out of $5000, the guy who isn't talented enough to make it and tries to kill himself, and so many more.
The characters are all completely one dimensional except for the teachers, who have some substance but not enough screen time to make you care about them more than you care about the students. The writing is very limited and the direction is no better than most of the other dance movies to have some out in the past five years. The choreography wasn't bad but you can find much better in other films (i.e Take the Lead). The high points of this film are the cinematography and the film editing which were very good, but you forget about the look of the shots after all the mindless droning of the characters.
The only suggestion I could give to the producer's would be to take the cast of the faculty (which included Kelsey Grammar, Bebe Neuwirth and Megan Mullay of 90's sitcom fame) and some of Sinclair's dancers, actors, and singers to launch a TV show. That would at least have some talent and would be worth spending the hour a week to watch.
Fame: What's in a Name
Ayreesfoxx14 January 2010
From this moment forward, I'm going to completely forget that the original Broadway production existed. That's not to say that this rendition of Fame was better or worse, but I do believe that comparing them is not fair. You have to remember that there is nearly a 30-year difference between the media, which grants a large difference between what can and what will change. With that being said, I feel as if this movie actually did a decent job in doing what it was should - bringing an entertaining moving and showing what recalling happens in an art school.
The plot as much goes in the same boat as sever that we have seen before. We watch the lives of several students as the go from bumbling and hopeful applicants in a prestigious arts school in New York City, to prospering and proud graduates. Yet it's not all fun and games, as each of the selected ten students have their own trials and tribulations in their friends of dance, music, and acting. Along the way, their teachers who add their own flavor and advice will guide them. These little gems by people like Kelsey Grammar and Charles S. Dunton layer on an impressive and applaud-worthy amount of attention and detail to what these kids should be learning. They fully immerse themselves into the role of molding their minds into what they need to be.
For delivering the story of each of the characters, director Kevin Tancharoen did an interesting and stuck it to the parts that were only worth telling. When I say that, He doesn't show you each of their love loves, or what their careers are - in fact he barely gives them enough face time to know who they are - but sticks to what's enough to give them their motivation and drive. The passion of each character is what makes this movie and that's what pushes this movie along past it's four "years." However when done in this fashion, you do run into the issue of what I mentioned just a moment ago; not knowing who is who. It wasn't until the end of them move where I could clearly recognize anyone, let alone remember anyone's name clearly.
I did say that I wouldn't compare this to the Broadway original, but considering that this was on Broadway, it's safe to assume that the music was left as well. One has to realize that you are watching a movie about NYC preps in arts school. Yet most of the musical numbers were not spontaneous or over-excessive (though the first main number did nearly break that second one). The majority had a purpose and flowed with the plot, which is always a plus, in the aftermath of the High School Musical trilogy.
Yet the highlight of this little aural romp was the fact that overall, there was no true happy ending. Sure, people got what they needed, but not in the way that they expected it. It was true in the way that real life would finish out for kids. It's a little bit of reality wedged into a lot of fantastical imagery and melody.
The movie overall is good. Could things have been done better? Yes, yet that can be said with almost any movie. This is, however, a movie that you have to want to watch, much like Rent or West Side Story. If you walk into those and you are either not prepared or they are not what you enjoy, then you are going to be disappointed and will not experience the full potential you were meant to get.
The plot as much goes in the same boat as sever that we have seen before. We watch the lives of several students as the go from bumbling and hopeful applicants in a prestigious arts school in New York City, to prospering and proud graduates. Yet it's not all fun and games, as each of the selected ten students have their own trials and tribulations in their friends of dance, music, and acting. Along the way, their teachers who add their own flavor and advice will guide them. These little gems by people like Kelsey Grammar and Charles S. Dunton layer on an impressive and applaud-worthy amount of attention and detail to what these kids should be learning. They fully immerse themselves into the role of molding their minds into what they need to be.
For delivering the story of each of the characters, director Kevin Tancharoen did an interesting and stuck it to the parts that were only worth telling. When I say that, He doesn't show you each of their love loves, or what their careers are - in fact he barely gives them enough face time to know who they are - but sticks to what's enough to give them their motivation and drive. The passion of each character is what makes this movie and that's what pushes this movie along past it's four "years." However when done in this fashion, you do run into the issue of what I mentioned just a moment ago; not knowing who is who. It wasn't until the end of them move where I could clearly recognize anyone, let alone remember anyone's name clearly.
I did say that I wouldn't compare this to the Broadway original, but considering that this was on Broadway, it's safe to assume that the music was left as well. One has to realize that you are watching a movie about NYC preps in arts school. Yet most of the musical numbers were not spontaneous or over-excessive (though the first main number did nearly break that second one). The majority had a purpose and flowed with the plot, which is always a plus, in the aftermath of the High School Musical trilogy.
Yet the highlight of this little aural romp was the fact that overall, there was no true happy ending. Sure, people got what they needed, but not in the way that they expected it. It was true in the way that real life would finish out for kids. It's a little bit of reality wedged into a lot of fantastical imagery and melody.
The movie overall is good. Could things have been done better? Yes, yet that can be said with almost any movie. This is, however, a movie that you have to want to watch, much like Rent or West Side Story. If you walk into those and you are either not prepared or they are not what you enjoy, then you are going to be disappointed and will not experience the full potential you were meant to get.
I can't remember the plot, let alone their names
MovieBuff-fest15 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I grew up watching Fame on TV, catching a few episodes here and there. I am not big on remakes but I thought maybe it could be more modern and exciting 29 years later so I was willing to give it a chance. I was so wrong.
I rented the DVD for my wife who had seen neither the original nor the TV series. My next mistake was choosing the director's cut version, adding nearly 20 more boring minutes to our watch time. Halfway through I hit the 50% speedup option to get through the movie faster. It was still insufferably long. The only enjoyment we got was watching the clips in the end credits where the actors were finally able to show their talents. We also enjoyed the music video.
Spoilers: Too many main characters with nothing to do but show how 4 years of working your butt off really gets you nowhere, including a lack of any real growth. Most of the characters peter out, get taken for a ride, drop out, or find other ways to end the suffering.
I can usually relate to any movie and any character, but this time I just could not care about any of them. There seemed to be a lot of wasted talent, waiting for their next cut-scene.
There was almost one tense moment when one of the characters contemplated throwing himself in front of an approaching subway train. I was so bored by that point that I would have pushed him myself just for my chance to be next in line. At least that would have been dramatic or helped the audience feel something. Alas, the only thing I felt was regret. That is two hours of my life I won't be getting back. And another 30 minutes to warn people not to make the same mistake.
I rented the DVD for my wife who had seen neither the original nor the TV series. My next mistake was choosing the director's cut version, adding nearly 20 more boring minutes to our watch time. Halfway through I hit the 50% speedup option to get through the movie faster. It was still insufferably long. The only enjoyment we got was watching the clips in the end credits where the actors were finally able to show their talents. We also enjoyed the music video.
Spoilers: Too many main characters with nothing to do but show how 4 years of working your butt off really gets you nowhere, including a lack of any real growth. Most of the characters peter out, get taken for a ride, drop out, or find other ways to end the suffering.
I can usually relate to any movie and any character, but this time I just could not care about any of them. There seemed to be a lot of wasted talent, waiting for their next cut-scene.
There was almost one tense moment when one of the characters contemplated throwing himself in front of an approaching subway train. I was so bored by that point that I would have pushed him myself just for my chance to be next in line. At least that would have been dramatic or helped the audience feel something. Alas, the only thing I felt was regret. That is two hours of my life I won't be getting back. And another 30 minutes to warn people not to make the same mistake.
Fresh New Faces; Same Old Lessons
jsweeney4213 October 2009
My first impression of the movie was that "Wow! They've kept the same feel of chaotic creative energy as the original movie." As I watched, I kept looking for Coco and Bruno and Angelo and Shorofsky and all the other people I remember from the original. When I finally stopped doing that, I was able to focus on what they were doing with the new cast of characters. I saw minor elements and situations from the original, but these played out differently based on the character. The students themselves were fresh and new, with a wonderful modern take. The teachers had the same real-life lessons for the students - a nice touch of consistency. The one negative I noted is that the students this time did not seem to have the same level of character development as in the previous version. These students do not stick in my mind as strongly as the original cast. All-in-all, I would call this a great sequel rather than a remake.
Remember its name....if you have to.
terrellrobinson7113 April 2010
When bad reviews and moderate box-office results came through for the re-invention of "Fame", I decided why not go for it after all. After that, this looks like a movie I can tell one of my friends about. And now that I still have the movie on DVD for over 4 1/2 weeks, I can still tell someone I know about it. "Fame" doesn't live forever but I was impressed by the flaws, clichés, and sometimes sentimentality of this film. In other words, it's funny, fast-paced,and just terrific. Set in modern-day at the Performing Arts High School in New York, this movie deals with over 10 students who goes through four years (plus auditions) of love, heartbreak, joy, and raising your voices. Some might have a problem with the quickness of the four years combined together and some of the actors looks too old to play teenagers. But I didn't, so I basically stuck with it and it even surprised me for 107 minutes. The "teenagers"/newcomers in "Fame" are surprising and fantastic. For example, Naturi Naughton (who played Lil' Kim in "Notorious") steal some of the scenes of the film whether it's from singing the original tunes from the original film, "Fame" and "Out Here on my Own" or from going by her parents' wishes as a classical pianist and becomes a singing sensation. Kay Panabaker and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (from Disney Channel) are superb, especially when they sing. Collins Pennie is phenomenal as Malik and he, like Naughton, steals some scenes. Much as the same goes to Asher Book, who as Marco, develops some joyfulness and emotional content through the film. Even the adult actors like Debbie Allen (from the movie and T.V. show of the same name), Kelsey Grammar and Megan Mullally has their moments as well. This IS a movie directly for the teenagers if the kids can't handle this movie. It has its moments and sometimes the sentimentality will put a smile on your face. I enjoyed it, so why don't you go for it. Go, remember its name....if you have to.
Bought this for $5... It wasn't worth it.
fkmestupid18 February 2011
So I was down at my local video store buying some second hand bluray discs and there I found Fame for $5. I thought to myself how bad could it be. It may be a little bit of a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
I was never into the original film but I distinctly remember liking the television series of the same name.
What's right with it: Kelsey Grammar gives a really nice (but typically grouchy) performance as a piano teacher.
Some flashy camera work.
What's wrong with it: Flat uninspired staging, bland performances, irritating lighting, terrible dialogue and just an overwhelming feeling that no one involved in this film really put much thought into making this a fresh take on an old story.
Where to find it: Probably the bargain bin at your local video store.
I was never into the original film but I distinctly remember liking the television series of the same name.
What's right with it: Kelsey Grammar gives a really nice (but typically grouchy) performance as a piano teacher.
Some flashy camera work.
What's wrong with it: Flat uninspired staging, bland performances, irritating lighting, terrible dialogue and just an overwhelming feeling that no one involved in this film really put much thought into making this a fresh take on an old story.
Where to find it: Probably the bargain bin at your local video store.
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