Fame
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Movie Reviews of Fame
Movie Review: I'm so glad I'm not a dancer
Summary: 3 Stars
I did attempt to be a dancer when I was very young, but gave it up because it clashed with watching children's TV at the time. Besides, I don't think I could now, not with the way my figure turned out - dancers are all too skinny, I'd give myself two black eyes!
Back to the film, I originally bought this on an impulse, and have taken a couple of months to feel actually in the mood to watch it. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I sure didn't get it. I think I was expecting the film to be focused more on the school, whereas halfway through, it drifts far away from the school, and into the personal lives, and really doesn't make much sense afterwards. Plus, the film is very thinly stretched over just over 2 hours, which means the film comes across as very disjointed, with huge, unexplained gaps, and storylines never completed. For instance, there's an actress so desperate for 'fame' that she mistakenly gets involved with a guy who's more interested in what's under her clothes, but we never see what happened to her. Did Leroy ever graduate? Did Doris & Ralph stay together? Did that nameless girl really have an abortion?
Most of the stars never went on to much else after this, not that I can see anyway. Irene Cara obviously, but when was the last time she released a hit? Then of course there was the TV series, and only Gene Anthony Ray, Lee Curreri, Albert Hague and Debbie Allen went on to reprise their roles in that. I think I may have considered giving it a peek if Maureen Teefy (who went on to have a very small role in Grease 2) and Barry Miller still appeared in it. For some reason, I really identified with Maureen's character, plus, it showed her gradual change in fashion etc throughout the film.
There's something about Fame that brings out a lot of craziness in people. For instance, a couple of years ago, the fashion came back in for a very short of period of time (thankfully), due to music videos by Jennifer Lopez, and ex Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, going back to the era of Fame. I hope no one decides again that leg warmers was a good look. Fortunately, I'm too young to remember the terrible fashion.
The best scene in the whole film? I loved the viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show included during the movie, which included plenty of audience participation, and there's even a very good lookalike of Tim Curry as Frankenfurter in the audience. Doris (Maureen Teefy) joins in with the "Time Warp" on the stage, due to smoking a 'funny' cigarette. I'd love to visit something like that in the UK, since I love the film, and I'd definitely be dressing up!
I think this is one of those films for only watching once, I just don't understand how it's managed to become a classic over the years. It's not something that can be watched over & over, like the other great musicals, Grease & Sound of Music for example.
Movie Review: A brilliant but unsatisfying film!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
From the opening credits, Fame seemed extremely promising. Here is a musical about the trials and tribulations of the talented kids at a New York City High School for Performing Arts. I mean, you can't go wrong. This just screams masterpiece. And even after the credits began to roll, that promise was still there.So why didn't Fame hold up to that promise? Maybe because it tried to tell too many stories in too short a time and never fully developed them. Maybe there were to many primary characters. Or maybe because none of the individual stories resolved themselves and the film seemed unfinished, ending too soon and too fast, despite it's lengthy running time.
We follow eight of the accepted students through three years of their education. They grapple with discipline, praise, disappointment, growth, friendship, love, sex, competition, and initiation into the world of entertainment where there are more failures than successes. As in his two previous movies, director Parker demonstrates his gift for working with youth and drawing out their best performances, which greatly benefits the film.
Barry Miller is Ralph, a fast-talking Puerto Rican whose hero is Freddie Prinze and whose hip comic sense hides a painful personal life. Irene Cara plays Coco, an ambitious singer whose longing for fame leads her to the seamy side of showbiz. Gene Anthony Ray is a tough black ghetto youth who dances like a leopard and resists the disciplinary strictures of one of his teachers (Anne Meara). Maureen Teefy is very convincing as a Brooklyn girl who must free herself from a domineering mother in order to express her artistic sensibilities. Lee Curreri plays a synthesizer enthusiast whose single-minded genius is the source of pride for his taxicab-driving father. Also featured are Paul McCrane as a homosexual acting student, Antonia Fransceschi as a rich ballerina, and Laura Dean as a lackadaisical dance student.
Fame is an emotionally involving and exuberant movie. It contains many moments of cinematic poetry. For every clichéd portrait of teenage anxiety there is a matching character revelation of depth. But in the end, it all seems unsatisfying and that's a shame. With all these great qualities going for it, I try not to think about what could have been. It's definitely a motion picture experience worth taking, but it should have been a lot more satisfying!!!!
Movie Review: Entertaining, realistic, involving, fun.
Summary: 3 Stars
In the series of realistic/dark movies about music (like Footloose, Saturday Night Fever). This type of film minimises hollywood gloss, using as many unknown or fresh actors as possible and minimises "I feel a song coming on" moments and other movie-musical cliches. If anything, these movies are closer to movies than musicals. Music is everywhere in Fame, though. Its about dance, theatre, movies and playing instruments - yet instances of any of these are fit into a real-life situation, like kids trying out for a special talent school, or rehersals or performances. For those who aren't really fans of musicals (i am, but i know some people are not), no-one spontaneously bursts into song during Fame. Or when they do it is made seem spontaneous and immensely fun. And fun is the key element in Fame. Like Footloose and Fever, there are definite moments of hard-edged drama, but unlike the other two, there is more than enough fun to be had. You probably like the characters in Fame a lot more than you do in those other two also. The opening audition section very cleverly makes you interested in this quirky cast of characters, and you gladly follow their adventures for the hefty running time thereafter. Well-directed by Parker, Fame is still fun, exciting and involving decades later.Movie Review: 7 classes a day and a hot lunch.
Summary: 3 Stars
Well, I finally got around to watching this "classic". About a hour and a half into it I seriously contemplated turning it off. Maybe its my pervasive hatred of musicals, my years as a theatre major, or just the poorly drawn characters, but this movie bored me. Now, I'm sure in it's prime it was revolutionary- it deals with taboo topics like race, abortion, and homosexuality in a time when these weren't blasted across your "must see tv" hour. Its a powerful film in its harsh light throwing of what it means to be an artist in the city- to be poor- to struggle. But the music and dancing everyone raves about was bland and much of the same. The title track "Fame" and the famous street scene that surrounds it, does not inspire, it merely presents a traffic jam of unlikely components. The film takes it's time setting up a rich environment with extreme characters, but then fails to take them anywhere. We are left hanging with yet another musical number. And never once did I ever believe these kids were of high school age.
It was funny seeing some of the theatrical excersises I too did in school portrayed on screen, but it was such an unfinished picture that it annoyed, rather than inspired me.
Movie Review: I watched this because I liked the show as a kid.
Summary: 3 Stars
I remember likeing the show as a kid and I also knew a girl in college that went to this High School so that was enough to get me interested in the movie. I also spent seven years in NYC and miss it so that was another motivation.
But, despite the movie being fun it left me unsatisfied. There was just too much tried to fit into a two hour film. All four years of High School were covered for over half a dozen kids. This left each relatively undeveloped and more questions in my mind than resolved plot lines.
The music and dancing were enjoyable and over all the movie was a pleasant watch but it was far from a great movie.