Review of Fame (1980) by Phil B — 11 Apr 2008

Wahahaha! Now I'm viewing this from a 2008 perspective. Maybe it was cutting edge and utterly fabulous in it's day, but, well yes - I'm afraid it's quite dated now. It tries to tackle social issues throughout and you really can see where it's going a mile before it gets there.

There are various moments of extreme cheese, which are kind of funny now. Still, no doubt this paved the way for films like Save The Last Dance and Honey, which are far more watchable affairs, probably at least in part because they don't attempt to follow as many varied characters, and hence can attempt a deeper and more complete portrayal.

Musically speaking, the film is competently done, but you have to bear in mind that this is 1980. Edgey is not a word you'd use to describe any of the music here. Certainly, for me, the music reminded me of the tragic state of high school music when I was there, cough, 16 years ago - very much in the dark ages, with very little idea about musical breadth.

Quite possibly a realistic portrayal of performance arts courses in 1980, then, perhaps! Amongst the other cliches is some 1980 style stand-up comedy, which also serves to reassure me that things have come a long way since then! I think for me, it was a little long too.

Plenty of time is spent just watching the talented cast do their thing. And there is talent there. It's just that in 2008, the performances aren't actually that interesting, because that kind of material has been around for so long now.

The plot is somewhere around the average mark. As is the whole experience, I'd say, through todays eyes. If you loved it to bits the first time around, you may do well to enjoy the memory and not actually revisit the film.