Fame (1980) User Reviews

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

[TVholic · 8/10 · 1 October 2000]

High school. Years and decades later, some look back on it with fondness, others with embarrassment. But few find it easy to forget. It's one of the most critical phases of our lives, when changes come fast and furious whether we're ready or not. No longer children, not yet adults, irresistible forces buffet us, pushing and pulling us in every direction.

"Fame" did its best to capture this turbulent, chaotic period for its cast of young characters. For the most part, it succeeded. It meandered, but did feel like a slice of life. This movie holds a special place in the hearts of the Class of '80. We had just bid farewell to the sensational '70s, and soon to the end of three or four stimulating and sometimes difficult school years. We were headed out into the cold, cruel world, leaving home for college then parts unknown. As we approached our watershed event, this newly released movie was like a two-hour yearbook for us. We couldn't escape the titular song on the radio. That was us up there on the screen. Those were our friends, rivals and classmates as we had faced our own dreams, frustrations, successes and failures. Except that theirs were peppered and punctuated with lively tunes from Michael Gore.

It's especially poignant for those who attended any of New York City's other elite, top-tier high schools, especially Stuyvesant, Bronx HS of Science or Brooklyn Tech. Like the kids here, we were considered the best of the best. We had no auditions, but instead rigorous entrance exams. More than the Performing Arts kids, we were expected to change the world, although not necessarily become famous. Like them, not all of us made it. But the pressure cooker environment fostered extraordinary camaraderie and esprit de corps, not unlike the toe-tapping "Hot Lunch Jam" in the cafeteria. On our own graduation day, our spirits soared almost like the jubilant crescendo in the rousing finale. The film leaves us fittingly on a single, triumphant note at the end of "I Sing the Body Electric," pointing to the blindingly bright, boundless future and all the promise it held.

"Fame" couldn't have been set anywhere else. This story would never have worked in a small or suburban school. Los Angeles has a stronger identification with movies and television, but NYC is a mecca for all of the arts. Home not only to what was then called PA, but also world-renowned Juilliard, NYC is a cultural center unmatched by any other city in the world. "Fame" is also a time capsule of the rest of the city of the time, showing the seediness, grit and grime that was endemic of a New York still struggling back from the fiscal crisis that had nearly bankrupted it. But most of all, it showed the vitality, since muted by the inroads of Giuliani, Disney and tourism. Having it filmed in and around an actual NYC school - although not the real PA - helped give it a wonderful sense of verisimilitude.

What I wouldn't give to be young again. But with "Fame," at least I can remember what it was like.

Good. Could have been great.

[TOMASBBloodhound · 7/10 · 10 January 2007]

A recent survey of children in the UK re-enforced the notion put forth by this film 27 years ago. That being more than anything else, young people want to grow up to be somebody famous. It used to be doctors and firemen that kids wanted to be. Now, everyone wants to be famous. Fame is a story of a group of kids accepted into the High School for Performing Arts in New York City. We seen them first audition, then take classes and learn about life for the next four years. The film has a lot of fine qualities, but ultimately leaves you feeling a little unsatisfied.

Alan Parker's bold directorial style fits the story pretty well. The film has been classified as a musical, but more than anything it is a drama. Musical numbers and dance routines break out here and there, and Parker keeps them as close to realistic as they really could have been filmed. The acting is for the most part top-drawer with a few exceptions. The pacing is a little off, particularly toward the end of the film, but by that point, the story has already taken a few wrong turns anyway.

First off, the auditions at the beginning of the film should have weeded a couple of the principle characters out. It seems unlikely that anyone would show up and audition for one department, then stumble their way through admissions to another. Some of these people just don't look that talented or interested to begin with. Once the first year of classes gets going, the film settles into a nice groove. The interaction between students and teachers is very well handled, and it leaves you wanting more. The film begins to lose itself later on as we see more and more of the students' lives out of school. Some of these people just aren't worth caring about.

The film's biggest mistake is making the Ralph Garcy character so prominent. This guy is a boorish; self-centered jerk. A "professional a-hole" as he proudly declares on stage during his comedy routines. The audience is supposed to somehow feel for this guy and his tragic personal situation, but I was just hoping they'd throw his butt out of school. Irene Cara, Maureen Teefy, Paul McCrane and the late Gene Anthony Ray are the people you'll care about by the time this film is over. Try as I might, I still can't develop abs like Gene Anthony Ray had in this film.

Overall this film is good. It is memorable, interesting, and full of daring scenes and performances. It runs maybe a little too long, and perhaps some of the wrong characters get fully developed while others kind of hover in the background. The musical numbers are great, and there is even a surprise or two waiting to be discovered by the time the film is over. Though not perfect, Fame will be a film that lives on in one way or another for many years to come.

7 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Seeking a Spot in the Show Business

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 9 March 2008]

In New York, a group of freshmen join the High School for the Performing Arts after being well succeeded in their audition. For four years, their dreams, deceptions, success, love and personal dramas are disclosed though the insecure Doris Finsecker (Maureen Teefy), the homosexual Montgomery (Payl McCrane), the aggressive Leroy (Gene Anthony Ray), the hopeful Coco (Irene Cara), the ambitious Ralph Garci (Barry Miller) and their friends until their graduation day.

Twenty-eight years ago, "Fame" was a great success, with the story of teenagers seeking a spot in the show business, and I loved this movie and the soundtrack on CD. I have just watched "Fame" on DVD, and presently I would say that it is a good movie with a great potential only, but with too many flawed subplots. The story follows too many characters and leaves many situations without answer. I do not know whether Alan Parker had edition problems to reduce the running time of this movie, but what happened, for example, with the ballerina that goes to a clinic for abortion? What happened with Leroy and his teacher, did he fail due to his grammar problem? What happened with Coco after undressing her blouse in the apartment of that crook? The musician that plays synthesizer and his proud father are left behind in the subplot. Anyway, "Fame" is still a delightful entertainment and a cult-movie for me. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Fama" ("Fame")

Note: On 12 September 2015, I saw this film again.

Note: On 29 April 2023, I saw this film again.

Successes and Failures on the Road to Fame

[SophiaMazzella · 30 November 2018]

Fame is more than a movie about high school and a group of developping teenagers. It is about what it means to go after a dream and the successes and failures along the way.

Increddibly crafted and edited, Fame is a joy to watch that keeps you invested in the journey of many characters despite its long runtime. The piece poignently captures some of the more meaningful moments of the students four years at performing high school while inserting some showstopping numbers along the way ("Fame" and "Out Here on My Own" for example). However, the film never strays from the more painful decisions and experiences of growing up and chasing a dream. It tackles a variety of topics with care and decisiveness.

Many complaints I have seen are against the film's openended nature. I would argue that this is part of the film's realism. High school is only the beginning of these students lives and there are countless more hurt and highs in their future that they have yet to experience. The film is about the lack of knowledge of whether one has talent or will "make it" in a nearly impossible business, and this choice only further upholds it.

The film is a wonderful drama that stands the test of the time for anyone who's been young with a wild dream and determination. It is definitely worth watching.

Very well done!

[Brian-97 · 7/10 · 12 November 2005]

"Fame" is a very well done portrait of the students who inhabit New York City's High School of the Arts. The film focuses on a group of students who dream of making it big while they perfect their craft at the now famous school. Director Alan Parker allows each of the highlighted students to mature on screen, allowing you to feel a connection with each one. The music here is infectious and fun. The dancing is exciting and fresh. The film eventually became the basis for an Emmy-winning television series starring Debbie Allen and some of the other actors from the film. One of the more enjoyable "dance" films of the 1980's. Received Oscars for music. 8/10

It builds up--and then insults--its own characters

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 11 September 2004]

"Fame"--about a collection of students attending the four-year Manhattan's School for the Performing Arts--looks right, feels right and sometimes sounds right; soon, however, the film becomes a muddled soap opera about talented young people reaching too high for their stars. Screenwriter Christopher Gore builds up and then insults or humiliates his own characters--and for what purpose? To show that even eager, ambitious, talented kids have to learn humility? Director Alan Parker has alert eyes and ears, and he knows how to lighten the mood of any scene with a bit of raucous humor, so that things never get too heavy. Sharper editing might have left some of Parker and Gore's pretensions and absurdities, such as with the gay student who comes out not just once (to his girlfriend), but twice (to his teacher and classmates). In the next scene, that same young man is seen in tight close-up putting on lipstick; this is done for a sniggering effect, which is stupefying once one realizes that the entire class is getting dolled-up to look like characters from "Rocky Horror". This manufactured loss of dignity is then repeated with all the major characters, including the promising disco queen, the wealthy white ballerina, the talkative dancer, the stand-up comedian and the illiterate who may not graduate because of his failing grades. If people respond to the movie, it's due to the cinematography (which captures some of New York City's squalor and dusty classrooms with a bracing realism), the propulsive soundtrack and the cynical-funny talk. The characters are quite a different matter--they become plot-mechanisms, their pitfalls punctuated by a director who can almost be heard saying, "Don't let this happen to you!" Oscar for title song; Gore's script and another song, the ballad "Out Here On My Own", were Oscar-nominated. **1/2 from ****

The last of the 70's movies

[atzimo · 10/10 · 27 August 2002]

'Fame' (1980) is brilliant. It's got all these qualities that made the late 70's movies so great. It is proud of its directness and not ashamed of being over the top.

What really matters here, is the journey, not the destination. Ignorant idiots with soap opera mentality, will never realize that 'Fame' is about the struggles, anxieties and triumphs of these young people, not about their careers.

Ironically enough, none of the very talented actors of 'Fame' made it in Hollywood. 'Fame' marked the end of an era. The end of artistic freedom and experimentation and the beginning of commercialization and political correctness. It's the last statement of a generation that had a voice of its own.

10/10

GREAT songs but has serious problems in drama

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 6 April 2005]

Film follows a bunch of students in the NYC High School of the Performing Arts. There's Coco (Irene Cara) a black singer who WILL make it to the top despite everything. She's helped by Bruno (Lee Curren) a white musician. Then there's Doris (Maureen Teefy) who wants to be an actress--but she's shy and scared. She becomes friends with Motgomery (Paul McCrane)--purportedly the only gay student in the school and is romanced by Raul (Barry Miller). Then there's Leroy (Gene Anthony Ray--who sadly died in 2003) who's homeless and a great dancer--but can't read. Then there's various teachers (Albert Hague, Anne Meara stand out) trying to teach the kids.

The songs are GREAT (the title tune and "Out Here On My Own" were nominated for Best Song--"Fame" won), the dances are energetic and the young cast shows plenty of ambition and talent. BUT this film misses the boat in the drama department. Many plot lines are brought up and completely left open-ended by the end of the movie. Why did Coco do a porno? Did Doris and Raul remain together afterwords? Did either make it? How about Montgomery--what happened to him? And did Leroy ever graduate--and how? There are too many long speeches (Raul has two) and moments that just lead to nothing. I'm assuming there were cuts in the script--I can't believe the movie just left all this open.

Still, it's worth seeing for the acting and, again, the music. There's basically not one bad song and the dances go full force (and at one point stop traffic--literally!). My favorites are "Fame", "Out Here..." and "I Sing the Body Electric" which is a great closing song. So I recommend it but can only give it a 7--the script really needed to tie up loose ends--and it didn't.

Trivia: They wanted to shot this film at the actual School for Performing Arts but couldn't get permission. The dean of the school read the script and said there was way too much swearing in the film. That is true--there is a LOT of foul language but that's how high school kids talk. Avoid the TV version which abysmally overdubs it.

Brilliant movie

[adam-1009 · 10/10 · 2 March 2006]

I truly hate musicals because music numbers just start out of the sudden and usually spoil scenes, but this one is completely different - it's simply brilliant. Plot perhaps isn't any challenge for the viewers, but the simplicity of people life stories makes this movie great.

I've seen it at least dozen times and still I'm not tired with the plot, characters or music (I just love the soundtrack - it's the only soundtrack that I've really wanted to have and most probably will remain the only one that I owe).

For me it's a must-seen kind of movie, great characters compiled with entertaining songs and a lot of things to think about after the movie end.

vocal major, 2005.

[ayefrsty · 6/10 · 8 November 2005]

I actually just graduated from LaGuardia HS, the HS that "Fame" was based on as a vocal major (2005). People do not know what LaGuardia HS is until I mention that it's the "Fame" school. In my four years of being a student there, I did not watch "Fame". In fact, I just saw it 4 days ago. There are two teachers from the movie that currently teach at LaGuardia, Penny Frank and Jim Moody.

There were some things that did not connect, obviously. For instance, you would never do pointe freshman year. It captured the student's spirits very well, however we never broke into song and dance during lunch, we were too busy eating!! Some people will have their instruments and jam a bit in the lunchroom or senior lounge. In between breaks, the dance majors are still in their leotards grabbing lunch. Music majors have blackout days, where they come into school directly into the concert hall and not class and rehearse all day. What I do miss about the school is seeing people cut class to hang out in the hallway and work on their harmonies. Figuring out math problems while down the hall, a class would be studying their new Italian aria.

I did not feel as if the movie was amazing. In terms of capturing the spirit of the students, it was incredible. The struggles that all the students went through was definitely a reality. There were many things left out in the movie, especially the endings of various situations between the students.

I miss LaGuardia though. Never will I go to a school like that with people as interesting. I'm in college now and haven't really found people interesting enough to stimulate my mind. I am proud to be a graduate of the Fame school, for it was the best four years of my life.

I hadn't remembered it being this bad

[twiss54 · 2/10 · 23 July 2002]

My wife and I both remembered this film being a lot better than it is. When we rented it last weekend, we wondered if we were watching the same movie we had seen 22 years or so ago. We both agreed that we were probably remembering the TV series, which, in its one-hour segments, was compelled to actually wrap up plot lines. This movie leaves many loose threads, as has been mentioned by others here... basically every main character's story line is left unresolved.

Gotta like the title song, though.

A strikingly original musical

[Gideon24 · 8/10 · 8 March 2015]

Fame was a hip and contemporary 1980 musical that was an inside look at the lives of a disparate group of talented teenagers at the High School of Performing Arts in New York. The episodic film takes a close look at the inner workings of show business and what drives performers to go through the work and constant rejection that being in the business involves. The film opens on a particular freshman year at the school and concludes four years later.

Along the way we meet Montgomery McNeill (Paul McCrane), the neglected son of a famous actress who despite his lonely childhood, still finds the business enticing. Maureen Teefy is wonderful as Doris Finsecker, a painfully shy teen who has been pushed into the business by her mother, but does come out of her shell at the school and discovers a talent for acting. Irene Cara plays CoCo Hernandez, a triple-threat know-it-all, who learns that she doesn't know as much as she thinks she does. Lee Curreri plays Bruno, an electronic keyboard genius who loves sitting in front of a keyboard but is at a complete loss at how to act in the real world. Barry Miller is brilliant in an Oscar-worthy turn as Ralph Garcy, a bitter Latino teen who is trying to bury his resentment about his father deserting him as a child by being a stand-up comedian. The late Gene Anthony Ray also shines as a dancer who only came to the auditions to partner a friend who wants to get in the school, but he is the one who has the talent, a star in the dance studio, but not so much in the classroom who constantly butts heads with Miss Sherwood (Anne Meara), the school's hard-nosed English teacher.

Just like a real-life school, students come and go as the years pass, most notably in the sophomore year, where we meet Hilary Van Dorn (Antonia Francheschi) a snooty rich dance major who comes between a budding romance between CoCo and Leroy and has her own career aspirations derailed in the process.

This film is riveting from jump as we watch students going through the painful audition process and struggle to develop their talent while keeping up their academic studies as well. The actors are pretty much perfectly cast, with standout work from Miller and Meara.

Alan Parker's direction is breezy and energetic, giving all of his very talented cast a little time in the sun and Christopher Gore's screenplay is surprisingly bold and uncompromising. The musical numbers leap off the screen, thanks to some inventive choreography and strong vocals, particularly Cara, whose rendition of the title tune won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

A movie that will have you tapping your toes and wanting to watch over and over again. The film inspired a long running television series, with Curreri and Ray recreating their movie roles, and a remake.

I will always love FAME

[gleichstrom-1 · 7/10 · 2 April 2006]

If your looking for a movie with fantastic music, nice cast and a storyline that is not to difficult to understand; FAME is for you.

I have several scenes that i love in this movie; some make you laugh, others make you contemplative. The editing i think is wonderful, really fast and often funny. Shure, maybe there would have been some more potential in the whole thing, all the story's stay somehow on the surface; maybe a bit too many characters are involved.But I don't care, because the real stars are...

...the musical scenes! One of my favorites: the hot-lunch-jam sequence. That piece is just so raw, funky and filmed in a special way (handcamera-style in "music-hell-breaking-loose"), its just electrifying! I miss this raw energy in todays music-clips; the only similar energy I found perhaps in Bette Midlers "the rose", all of the concert footage.Its about capturing something "wild" that is "realy" happening, and not doing it just perfect; take by take.

So, FAME is a wonderful nostalgia-trip to when synthesizers where heavy and walk-mans not available.I recommend it once a year; sure not for everyone.

Fame: 2/10

[movieguy1021 · 2/10 · 1 May 2004]

Fame did something odd. It was not only a musical that was created originally for the screen (most are based off of Broadway musicals), but it spawned a TV series and a Broadway musical. Let me correct that sentence. Fame is not a musical. Musicals have song numbers in order to advance the plot or to show characters' feelings. The singing in this music is not used to do either; in fact, there's no use for it at all. People just randomly sing to fit in with the plot. And that's not the type of musical I know.

The so-called plot of Fame has an onslaught of characters (who are all introduced at once-last time I saw that in a movie [Gosford Park] it had disastrous results) who audition for, and get into, New York High School for the Performing Arts. All of them are in for different reasons-i.e. acting, singing, etc. Quote-unquote drama unfolds as these middle-aged people pretending to be teenagers go through their four years.

My largest complaint is that the high school is supposed to be selective. After all, it's a free college, and they can't let everyone in. So how is it that some people who are really bad get into the college? Obviously so that drama could ensue between all of these different people. And why is the person top billed not even in the movie until near the end, for no reason at all, except to make us feel uncomfortable? There's many unsettling situations that these untalented people get into, yet you can't feel bad for them because you don't know who they are! These relationships occur between people whose names you don't know. And these characters realize things about themselves throughout the course of the movie, yet you don't realize that, because you don't know what they were like in the first place.

As for the singing, it pops in randomly (and is supposed to be humorous?) and does nothing. When the title song is sung, it's played in the middle of a street and before you can say Ferris Bueller everyone's in the middle of the street dancing wildly and off-beat to it. The song itself is fine, but the whole scene, like the whole movie, is unnecessary. Fame is an unpleasant movie, to say the least. I would say more, but most of the movie has thankfully gone out of my head. Just don't see it. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

My rating: 2/10

Rated R for language.

Story about potential.

[Schlockmeister · 20 April 2001]

This movie showcases a LOT of incredible talent. Fantastic performances throughout. The movie also is a great story about potential and how people use, abuse or ignore it in themselves. This is a story about students who look like they are all headed for fame and fortune. It shows the pitfalls along the way. We learn that talent is not enough. We also learn that many fall short and give up along the way. As an adult who was a teenager back when this movie first came out, it is a very bittersweet look at potential in us all and has us examine what we did with it in our lives, are we where we thought we would be? Yes, this movie is dated, it is over 20 years old, it HAS to be in some regard. But the story is timeless and will rank among classics of teenage movies and also always have a warm spot in the hearts of adults who grew up in the era. Highly recommended. Would make a great double feature with "Gold Diggers of 1933" just to show contrast and to see how Broadway has changed over the years.

You don't have to be a fan of musicals to enjoy Fame

[KnightsofNi11 · 7/10 · 19 January 2011]

Musicals are something most people tend to have pretty strong opinions about either leading one way or the other. There are those people who adore musicals and others who despise them. I place myself somewhere in the middle of these two ends of the spectrum. I don't hate musicals by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm not particularly fond of them. I don't particularly enjoy the whole idea of characters randomly breaking into song for no reason, especially when it doesn't further the plot whatsoever. My suspension of disbelief is shattered when the characters begin singing away their issues with no clear motivation as to why. On stage there is a lot of greatness that can be done with musicals, but on film I try to steer clear of them. However, if I had to recommend one musical, Fame would definitely be up on the list. It is a musical that places its musical numbers in appropriate and relevant spots. The film is really a drama before it is a musical. Plus it centers around a group of characters who are the kind of people who would break out into song and dance in real life. Obviously not to the extent that these characters do, but that's because Fame is still a musical.

Fame is about a group of high school students who go to school at a prestigious performing arts school in New York. The film follows a large ensemble of characters from their auditions to get into school all the way to graduation. Obviously it is a very character driven story and, for the most part, each character is very interesting and develops a lot throughout the movie. The characters span all sorts of personalities, backgrounds, and attitudes towards high school. But they all share one thing in common, and that is a love for performing arts. And it is through this that they can all relate. And they do all relate through some method or another. Friendships develop and enemies are made. Each character intertwines with the others, some more than the rest, but it all accumulates into a great character study.

In a film with so many stories going on and intertwining at the same time, a directors juxtaposition skills have to be tight and concise. Alan Parker is a very skilled director, and he shows it in the beginning of the film. The film begins by introducing us to all the characters through their auditions to get into the school. It makes for a great opening to the film. Each character is introduced in some unique fashion and we get a good sense of whose going to be important and what archetypal role each character will likely play. Of course by the end of the opening I started to get the feeling that there were going to be a lot of characters. And there were a bunch. Towards the middle of the film a lot of the smaller roles stopped showing up as much and it was clearly defined which were the central characters of the film. However, towards the end of the film Parker's ability to juxtapose these story lines started to dwindle. There are three main characters that become the central focus of the story and the others sort of fade away. We don't hear from some of the other characters for a long stretch of time until they are brought back up towards the end.

I'm still trying to figure out the ending and whether I liked it or not. It is very abrupt and leaves all the characters stories open ended. Nothing seems to be resolved in the end of the film. One could make the argument that this is a smart element to include in the film as it leaves it all open to interpretation. But I was still taken aback by the abruptness of the ending and its lack of explanation or catharsis. The film does end with an incredible musical number with a very powerful song. I still feel like I would have been happier if a little more work towards the storyline had gone towards the ending.

Fame's greatest quality is its great balance between the fantastic music and its sincere dramatic elements. There is a deep story here that deals with the difficulties of growing up as a teenager and coping with the world around you, especially when you are trying so hard to express a passion for something so close to your heart. I said before that each of these characters comes from very different walks of life and this plays heavily into this storytelling aspect. There are some incredibly gripping monologues delivered brilliantly by the actors. The film is really well written to begin with, and some moments of the film are tear jerkingly gripping. There are some truly powerful moments in Fame, both through dialouge and music.

Fame is good as a drama and a musical. It has lots of great songs that are performed by great actors that have a lot of acting talent as well as musical talent. I was very impressed by how great some of the dancing and singing was in this movie. Fame might have a few too many characters, causing it to get a little lost towards the end of the film. The ending is surprisingly abrupt, but can still be effective depending on how you interpret it. I enjoyed Fame a lot more than I thought I would and I would recommend it to anybody, even those who aren't big fans of musicals.

A really good film all around

[baruchyoseph8 · 7/10 · 23 June 2009]

This movie and its subsequent TV series followup has become the iconic stand-in for what is great about America.

Fame is famous for its music and performances. There are several standouts including Irene Cara, Paul McCrae, Anne Meara*, and the superb Gene Anthony Ray. The latter who plays a walk-on dancer with no academic or other than "street" credentials is an amazing personality and is worth watching for what is essentially a portrayal of himself. A wonderment to behold, as one king was apt to say.

The plot follows an interesting format - chronological at times, genre at other times, personalities in some cases ... but, it all really ends in a kind of mush.

Where Parker succeeds is in pushing this movie into periodic overdrive - with the extremely poignant and sometimes beautiful and outright campy music score that matches the performers step for step.

The climax of the film is a climax for all times. And this climatic complete cast of many many talented musicians and dancers and music is thankfully repeated throughout the credits. These are one set of credits that are well worth sitting through ... an achievement for the ages. The music by Christopher Gore is a gift to behold.

Is this really a musical?

[larryleecollins · 8/10 · 6 December 2015]

This movie breaks down a lot of the expectations that most audiences have in regards to musicals. However, this movie is still very clearly a musical through and through.

One of the biggest expectations audiences have going into a musical is that the characters will frequently just start singing and dancing for no reason. Parker decided to take a different route on how he presented the song and dance numbers. The movie revolves around a group of high school students as they progress through their four years of school at a performing arts high school. Since nearly every character in the story is a singer or dancer, it makes sense for them to sing and/or dance every once in a while. And since I'm sure every one of you knows at least one person that's involved in the arts somehow, I'm also sure you know that it's not completely out of character for these people to randomly start singing and dancing. The characters in "Fame" hold true to this personality trait. Whenever the characters start randomly singing and/or dancing throughout the movie, it may be "weird" according to societal norms, but for actual performers, it's something that could and often does actually happen in real life.

"Fame" also challenges the purpose of songs in the musicals. Normally, songs in musicals either are vital in progressing the plot or are simply for entertainment. The music in "Fame" does neither of these things. While the songs are vital to the plot, it is not in the conventional sense. Most of the songs in the movie are sung by musicians as they are auditioning, practicing, or performing, rather than simply being a tool to move the plot along. If someone were to take all the songs out of the movie the plot would not make as much sense, because without them the characters singing them would have to be removed from the script. Another thing that is expected out of most musicals is the big production number at the end of the musical that either ties all of the loose ends of the story up or celebrates everyone's good fortune. "Fame" still has a production number, but it fulfills neither of the expected uses. This production number takes place at the students' graduation. It serves as the final chance for both the audience within the movie and those of us watching the movie itself to see all of the characters perform before they go off into the "real world." None of the characters' story lines end with a sense of finality. No one is shown getting a professional job, or an agent, or even a relationship. The characters graduate and that's the end of it. For most audiences, they are expecting the final number to tie up loose ends. Sadly, these people will be left hanging.

Even though "Fame" is definitely very unconventional in it's delivery, it is still very strongly a musical. The songs are still very vital to the storyline even though they aren't quite delivered how you would expect. In my opinion, it does a great job at trying to reach to both musical loving audiences and non-musical loving audiences.

Music and Melodrama

[kenjha · 7/10 · 17 January 2011]

Students go through four years at a NYC school for the performing arts. It gets off to a terrific start, as students audition for the various classes. These early scenes are well edited and full of energy, providing glimpses into the key elements of music, dance, and drama classes. Much of the middle of the film is devoted to exploring the backgrounds of the various students, and this is where it bogs down and feels too contrived and melodramatic. The music is good throughout, highlighted by "Out Here On My Own," "I Sing the Body Electric," and the title song. The students are played by mostly unknown actors, and ironically, for most of them this film was the height of their fame.

Heartfelt and captivating

[gbill-74877 · 9/10 · 12 October 2018]

I love so many aspects of this film that I'm surprised it doesn't have a higher average rating. From its very beginning, with a brilliant audition sequence that has director Alan Parker switching between a number of characters and scenes, the film had me. Soon afterwards he hits it with the first of the musical numbers, an impromptu song and dance that breaks out in the lunch room, which captures the power of creative people feeding off one another. How that leads to the quieter girl (Maureen Teefy) escaping the noise to sit with a sensitive young man (Paul McCrane) and start up a friendship is also very nice.

'Fame' was ahead of its time in giving us a diverse cast, and that's in a lot of ways - race, language, body shape, sexual orientation, and economic background. It really captures the spirit of New York, and this is heightened by shots on the streets and in the subway. There are so many items it touches on - homophobia, abuse, violence, sexual harassment, and abortion. It celebrates the beauty of the arts, while at the same time cautioning just how difficult it is to make a career out of them. Its spirit is infectious, and it's filled with poignant moments.

Parker effectively uses an ensemble cast, each of whom contributes, but Barry Miller stands out as Ralph Garci, with a number of fine scenes: his impromptu acting during the audition ("I'm God, see?"), his recounting the pain of finding out Freddie Prinze had died, his telling his friends the real truth about his father, his lashing out a priest after his 5-year-old sister is assaulted ("Since when are you in the thinking business?"), and in bombing at a standup comedy club. It's a brilliant, powerful performance.

Irene Cara sings on a number of the tracks, including the wonderful title song, and also provides a heartbreaking moment when she's lured into posing topless in the apartment of a man posing as an indie film director. There are so many dangers that surround these kids, and the honesty of this predatory scene is a forerunner to the #metoo movement. It's too bad it's offset somewhat by Parker himself giving us two immature voyeuristic scenes of the boys peering into the girls changing room.

McCrane's descriptions of his growing sexual awareness, and the reaction he relates from his therapist ("He said it was probably a life choice"), is also touching. I liked the simple earnestness with which he portrayed this character, and his scene consoling Ralph Garci at the end (where Garci says "How do you know if you're good? Maybe you never know").

Without going through the rest of the big cast, I'll just add that I loved Jim Moody as the drama teacher, and wished his role hadn't tailed off after the sophomore year. That is one of the film's weaknesses - stories are unfinished and characters either disappear or certainly aren't all wrapped up with a big bow as in other movies - but this is also a strength in some ways. It gives the film the sense of how memories from the past are, and the ambiguity leaves it to us to imagine how the characters' lives played out. I think of 'Fame' as a collection of great moments, highlighting the arts, the human spirit, and growing up in a tough world which has so much danger and disappointment. Heartfelt and captivating, it's a great film.

Entertaining musical drama that could have been better

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 11 August 2014]

Fame is, at least to me, not a flawless film and it is easy to see why people wouldn't like or connect with it, but I found it to be a good, entertaining film. It is true that Ralph is given too much prominence and he is never really likable while some of the other characters are barely fleshed out and that the ending is far too abrupt and riddled with loose ends that were crying out to be tied up. Some of the dialogue is also a little rambling in places and with a structure that could have been tighter than it was. Fame, while very of the time, is very competently made with the style of filming appropriate for the type of film and what themes are explored, that some of the song and dance numbers are shot like a music video didn't come across as that much of a problem personally. The songs are terrific, the timeless title song, the infectiously catchy Hot Lunch Jam and the poignant Out Here on My Own are the highlights though the ending number I Sing the Body Electric is fun enough too. The score also won an Oscar along with the title song and deserved it thoroughly. The choreography is toe-tapping and spirited, especially in I Sing the Body Electric. The story captures the high school performing arts atmosphere really well, how fulfilling and fun yet punishing and competitive it is and has themes that anyone would relate to, ones that were relevant then and while not as much reasonably relevant now. While the characterisation is not perfect, there are a few good characters like Leroy and Coco. The performances show the actors very into their roles and enjoying them, Barry Miller does overact but if there was a favourite in the cast it would be Irene Cara, who had the best singing voice of the cast and the one with the best songs. In conclusion, has some imperfections in the writing department but musically especially the film while an acquired taste was personally entertaining. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Too obnoxious to care about

[JamesHitchcock · 5/10 · 24 December 2009]

Although the traditional cinema musical, generally based upon a successful Broadway show, went into something of a decline in the late seventies and eighties, this period saw the rise of a new musical genre based around dance and pop music. Like "Saturday Night Fever" and its sequel "Staying Alive", "Flashdance", "Grease" and "Dirty Dancing", "Fame" is an example of this trend. The original title for the film was, apparently, to have been "Hot Lunch ", but this had to be changed when director Alan Parker realised that there was already a pornographic film with the same title. The change was doubtless one for the better; I cannot really imagine Irene Cara singing "Hot Lunch! I'm Gonna Live Forever!"

The film follows a group of students through their studies at the New York High School of Performing Arts, which was a real institution at the time. It is split into sections entitled "Auditions", "Freshman Year", "Sophomore Year", "Junior Year" and "Senior Year", and hence takes place over a time-span of some four years. The opening scenes have something of the feel of a "fly on the wall" documentary about them, As the film progresses we get to know the various students and something of their stories. New York, of course, is a famously multi-ethnic city, and the film-makers were obviously keen to reflect this racial diversity by including at least one representative of most of the city's various ethnic groups (Jewish, Hispanic, Italian, Black, Irish and WASP).

Dance student Leroy Johnson struggles with his academic work, which at this school is given equal weighting with performance, because he is illiterate. Lisa Monroe, another dance student, is dismissed from the course for not working hard enough, and switches to the drama department. Montgomery MacNeil, a drama student, comes out as gay, probably a more daring plot-line in 1980 than it would be today, when it is virtually compulsory for every high school drama to have a token gay character. I wondered if his Christian name was a reference to the gay film star Montgomery Clift.

Raul Garcia, an aspiring stand-up comic, prefers to be called Ralph Garcey in order to hide his Puerto Rican background. His great ambition is to be the next Freddie Prinze- not the future Mr. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who would only have been four years old in 1980, but his father Freddie senior, another Puerto Rican comedian who died in 1977. Unfortunately Ralph seems to feel that the best way of achieving this ambition is to ape Prinze's self-destructive lifestyle.

"Fame" was clearly popular in the early eighties, spawning a television series and a stage musical. That irritatingly catchy theme song provided Cara with a huge chart hit. The basic concept is obviously still thought to be a viable one, because there has been a recent remake (which I have not seen). Yet like many of the musicals of this period, although not perhaps as much as the likes of "Saturday Night Fever", the original film seems rather dated today. (The one which seems to have held up the best is "Grease", probably because that was always intended as a defiantly deliberate anachronism, being twenty years behind the times even when it is made).

The song-and-dance numbers are lively enough, even if the music is not always to my personal taste. Yet there are other reasons, quite apart from its old-fashioned feel, why "Fame" is not my favourite film. One is that, despite the film's apparent aim of celebrating New York's ethnic diversity, too many characters are seen in terms of ethnic stereotypes. (African-Americans are bolshie with a bad attitude, Hispanics ditto, Jewish mothers are domineering and over-protective, etc.)

Another reason I didn't like the film much is that too many of the characters are just too obnoxious to care about. I would agree with the reviewer who found Ralph a "boorish self-centred jerk" but unlike that reviewer I found several of the other characters equally unpleasant. I could not sympathise with the bad-tempered, petulant Leroy and his frequent outbursts of rage, mostly directed at his long-suffering English teacher. Nor with Ralph's girlfriend Doris Finsecker, as keen to deny her Jewish identity as he is to deny his Hispanic one. (She renames herself "Dominique DuPont", largely because she knows this will annoy her mother). Nor with the bone-idle Lisa.

Irene Cara's character Coco Hernandez is difficult to sympathise with for another reason; not because she is a jerk but because she seems too naive to be true. She is taken advantage of by a man posing as a film director who offers her a "screen test"; she turns up at his apartment even though he is played as an obviously sleazy sexual predator. (Had he seemed more plausible this plot line would have had more credibility). Montgomery is one of the film's few likable characters, but the film does not concentrate on his story to any great extent. He largely functions as the school's kindly agony uncle, a shoulder for his heterosexual classmates to cry on.

My final complaint about the film is that there are too many main characters. Even the film's two and a half hour running time is inadequate to do justice to all these stories, some of which could have provided enough material for a whole film in their own right, and few of them are fully developed. Alan Parker has made some excellent films, including "Mississippi Burning" and "Evita", but "Fame" is not really one of them. It is perhaps ironic for a film with this particular title that few of its stars, except Cara, went on to achieve any great fame of their own. 5/10

Time Of Our Lives

[cdainard · 10/10 · 1 September 2017]

I have to say that this movie had a big impact on me in that it was a movie of opportunities, either missed or accomplished. Having your future in front of you knowing what you want to do in life and focusing on that one thing and just putting all of your heart and soul into it.This was a typical prototypical rags to riches story made for the era and told from the aspect of the student and teachers so you get a "true to life" depiction of what you sometimes have to do to get ahead in this world. I would definitely have young people watch this movie especially if they are involved in the performing arts. I know it is dated but the message is not.

It is not perfect, but I wouldn't call it bad...

[calvin616 · 6/10 · 28 March 2005]

IF you've watched Fame the musical the actual musical itself, you may not like this movie that much because it is an almost different version compared to the original musical. Obviously I've watched the original musical, and I like the actual musical more.

In some parts of the movie it was actually quite touchy.

Personally I love every production of Fame since I am a musical person and the stuffs that happen in the movie are quite realistic.

Due to the time restraint, the director needed to cut out a lot of scenes compared to the actual musical, some of them are quite important, and i agree that there are lots of loose ends for the characters. But this "mistake" is understandable.

If you have not watch the original musical, and you're into teen's movie (well, not those teen movie like confession of the teenage drama queen and mean girls) you will like this movie. Also, the jokes in this movie are quite funny.

Lights up the sky like a dead firefly

[RiffRaffMcKinley · 2/10 · 13 April 2008]

No matter what you've heard, "Fame" is not a good movie. It's not worth the investment of over two hours to watch stereotypically troubled teens dancing, singing, learning, and staring at girls in the dressing rooms.

Every cliché finds a cozy little home in this movie. There's a gay teenager looking for acceptance. That would have been great if it had been treated as anything more than a secondary plot point. There's a ghetto kid who has too much attitude-- what, was I surprised? And guess what? They all want to become big stars, finding fame and fortune, and they'd all be willing to crawl over their own mothers' smoking corpses to get it.

Oddly enough, this film is remembered for its music. But in actuality, the only moderately good song is "Hot Lunch Jam," which is still too cheesy to be of any real quality. The two most popular songs are nothing, either. "Fame" is meaningless fluff drowned out by the sheer spectacle of a massive dancing-in-the-streets scene. And "I Sing the Body Electric" (what in Bubba's name does that even mean?!?!?!?!?) is just an incomprehensible joke.

Bad acting, tasteless dialog, and hack direction (it is, after all, from the director of "Evita") are only marginally helped by Michael Seresin's appropriately ordinary camera work. But cinematography alone cannot carry a movie, especially one as uninspiring and pointless as this.