Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Fame (2009)

The Movie Snob offers up a new review.

Fame (C+). Let's say it up front: I never saw the original 1980 movie, nor the TV series that ran from 1982-1987, so I can't tell you if this reincarnation is better or worse than its predecessors. I can tell you that it reminded me of A Chorus Line, albeit a tame, after-school-special version. In the opening scene, hundreds of kids are auditioning to try to get into a New York City high school for the performing arts. Then we follow a handful of those who make the cut through all four years of their high school experience. Given that it's only 107 minutes long, the movie feels rushed throughout. The veteran actors who play the teachers (e.g., Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth) have only a few minutes of screentime; most of the movie consists of song-and-dance performances by the young stars, connected by talky scenes to establish two-dimensional characterizations and cliched conflicts. Actually, I was reasonably entertained by the performance sequences, but the Borg Queen saw it with me and said that even they were lackluster. I thought it was okay for a matinee, but I think BQ would tell you to avoid it at all costs.

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