Susan Granger’s review of “Fame” (MGM/UA)
Back in the 1980s, Alan Parker’s “Fame” electrified teens with a glimpse into the classrooms of New York’s High School for Performing Arts, a.k.a. Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts. But lightning doesn’t strike twice.
It’s not the fault of the new generation of ambitious kids, certainly not Naturi Naughton as Denise, a classical pianist who defies her conservative parents by switching to pop singing, delivering a new rendition of the ballad “Out There on My Own,” and Malik (Collins Pennie), who channels anger/frustration into acting/ rapping. Laid-back singer Marco (Asher Book) has conflicts with his shy, insecure actress girl-friend, Jenny (Kay Panabaker). Joy (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle) is another actress; Alice (Kherington Payne) is a dazzling dancer; Victor (Walter Perez) is a composer; and Neil (Paul Iacono), a filmmaker. When we meet them, they’re exuberantly auditioning for admission; for the next four years, they’re working through to graduation. Some find their true talent; some don’t. Faculty members include Kelsey Grammer (music), Charles S. Dutton (drama), Bebe Neuwirth (dance) and Megan Mullally (voice) with Debbie Allen, who was a student in the previous version, returning as the principal.
Screenwriter Alison Burnett hops onto the splashy, blandly sanitized “High School Musical”/”American Idol” bandwagon, rather than revisiting the nitty-gritty reality of Christopher Gore’s edgy subplots, which included students struggling with social issues like racism, poverty, illiteracy, teenage pregnancy and homosexuality. Instead, the greatest peril this generation of competitive kids face is the casting-couch. There’s little authenticity and the individual stories are only loosely woven together.
First-time feature-film helmer Kevin Tancharoen, previously a choreographer/music video director, obviously gave up trying to re-stage the famous dancing-on-taxi-cabs finale in Times Square, although he does try to replicate the attempted subway suicide and replaces the cafeteria jam with a rap-off. There’s nothing memorable about Mark Isham’s music and the catchy, Oscar-winning title song is only played over the end credits. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Fame” is an enthusiastic yet familiarly recycled 5, which is kind of a shame.
