Fame is a remake of a 1980 film of the same name. I didn’t see the original but I surely hope the original is better. It is about a group of students who went into a performing arts school and their journey through 4 years of studying there. This movie does have a few exciting musical numbers, but with abysmal script that every plot line is predictable and most characters are very one-dimensional, it’s hard to conjured up sympathy for any of them. To make the matter worst is the limited time we got to spend with each character. The movie is trying to keep track of way too many people and in the end, most of these characters I feel like I barely know them. 9+ main characters, 4 years, it’s impossible to know them. One tiny scene and then the screen flashing next year?? There are other movies with big ensemble cast too but somehow this one just feel not quite efficient in using the time to show its characters to the audience.

Another big problem I have with the movie is that the school was suppose to be very difficult to get in, only the best of the best would be able to attend. And yet can someone tell me how that incredibly uptight girl Jenny from the beginning that can get in the school? or how about that annoying filmmaker with a horrible audition? That just make no sense at all. Then there’s the bizarre selfish reaction from many of the male characters in the film, the jealous boyfriend who got angry and breakup with his girlfriend because she was stupid enough to get duped into one of those audition scheme that was actually just an excuse for the horndog actor to make advance on her. Gee! wouldn’t a normal person be at least concern about his girlfriends’ well-being after an unwant sexual advance? Then there’s the 3 friends who team up to make a demo track and have a meeting with a record company. And when the executive only wants the girl who has the amazing voice, the two guys react with anger, walk out and didn’t once thought of what the girl wants. Seriously what kind of friends are those?

The things that works in this movie are the teachers, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles S. Dutton all shines in the little screen time they have. Especially Megan, every line she has there’s always a kicker in the end that reminded you how funny she is. And her storyline feed right into the only storyline I like for one of the main character – Kevin, the aspiring dancer who is just not good enough no matter how hard he tried. It was heartbreaking to hear after 4 years of hard work, someone tell you in absolute honesty that you just not good enough to make it in the profession! I think everyone has a similar experience in their life at least once, where no matter what you do, you are still limited by your talent. That frustration is universal and the scenes did a great job in capturing that. From Megan’s teacher character talks about her own experience to Kevin’s reaction after hearing his own dance teacher’s frank comment. That’s one of the few bright spots in the film.

I did like a few musical numbers in the film, like the one in the cafeteria where random individual performances merged into one single big number in the end, or the big finish of the graduation. And some of the young actors in the film shows big promises with their great voice. I am sure some of them will get big in the years ahead, but they need a better film that this.

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Tagged: Movies · Musical