Movie Review: “Fame”
Monday, September 28, 2009 at 11:41PM | By Franck Tabouring 
Seen on: September 28, 2009
The players: Director: Kevin Tancharoen, Writer: Allison Burnett, Cast: Kherington Payne, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Paul McGill, Asher Book, Kristy Flores
Facts of interest: Remake of the 1980 "Fame."
The plot: A bunch of youngsters try to survive four years at the prestigious New York City High School of Performing Arts.
Our thoughts: Sure, I’ll remember the name of this disappointing remake, but that’s about it already. I can’t say I’m surprised Kevin Tancharoen’s new version of the 1980 musical lacks energy and heart, and as forgettable as this film is, I also admit I didn’t find this big-screen experience to be as boring as I expected.
That said, “Fame” failed to impress me, and it starts with the story. Spanning four years, the film follows a bunch of determined youngsters who first fight to get into the prestigious New York City High School of Performing Arts and then struggle to survive the various challenges they encounter on the road to graduation.
One of the main problems “Fame” faces is the dated story line. I’m definitely not against inspirational movies, but watching the same thing happen over and over again on the big screen just gets tiresome after a while. The film opened at more than 3,000 locations this past weekend, but it didn’t exactly do well at the box office.
Besides the musical numbers, this remake has absolutely nothing going for it. The characters in “Fame” remain uninteresting and underdeveloped, and when they’re not too ambitious or naïve in class or they’re not jamming on their lunch break, they engage in quick romances, or fight with their stubborn parents.
Before you know it, all of them face breakdowns at the exact same time, and to tell you the truth, I didn’t care a bit for any of these characters. They are thrown into a predictable, rushed plot about pursuing their passions for the right reasons, and none of all this is particularly enlightening or compelling, really.
Luckily, the film boasts a series of musical scenes, and select ones are indeed quite fascinating. In other words, “Fame” would be a way better film if it weren’t for the shallow story line. Tancharoen’s direction works, the cinematography works, the choreography works, and even the soundtrack delivers the goods here and there.
Another positive of this remake is the cast. The characters these young actors are playing are empty and boring, but most of them still deliver solid enough performances that certainly help boost the film’s overall pace. Some of them also move pretty well; especially Kherington Payne’s dance sequences really rock.
Freaky quote: "You have talent. Now let's see what we can do with it." – Kelsey Grammer
The final word: In the end, the script just messes too many things up in this movie at once. No, “Fame” version 2009 is not a complete failure, but apart from the aforementioned advantages, this is just one monotonous spectacle. So here it goes: skip the remake and just stick with the original.
Article by Franck Tabouring
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Reader Comments (1)
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 as you said, '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 (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, the 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, Joy, Kevin and Neil 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 and 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