Review of Fame (2009) by Chads. — 27 Sep 2009

An aura of prestige surrounding the High School of the Performing Arts was palpable in the 1980 Alan Parker film, largely due to a crucial scene where an aspiring dancer, who failed her audition, lashes out at the gatekeeper in a profanity-laced tirade.

The filmmaker's choice not to show a similar meltdown in this remake of "Fame", sets the wrong tone before "Freshman Year" ever commences. Without tears, without this outward display of vitriolic disappointment over being denied enrollment, the school seems like any other high school, a demythologization furthered by the revelation that its instructors are failed performers, and the period-specific but gravitas-killing prevalence of rap music, especially in the impromptu cafeteria jam session.

Since the instructors are stripped of their mystique, and the curriculum seemingly over-tolerant towards popular culture, "Fame", at times, is undistinguishable from John Chu's "Step Up 2 the Streets".

Even worse, despite its New York City setting, the film never truly steps up to the streets, never maximizes its urban milieu. Instead of a squalid comedy club where the students cheer on their drug-addled, Freddy Prinze-obsessed classmate, these kids go to a karaoke bar, smoke-free, of course, and no imbibing of alcoholic beverages.

Ensemble pieces both, Parker's "Fame", nevertheless, had a heart(Maureen Teeny as Doris) and soul(Paul McCrane as Montgomrey), who've been updated in the remake as whiny lovers. Their spat, when measured up against drug abuse, abortion, homosexuality, and an unplanned excursion into the world of adult films, comes off woefully short as something of dramatic interest.