Okay, having seen the original Fame a number of times and having sung the theme song aloud in public on a few embarrassing occasions, I guessed that I would probably not be a big fan of the Fame re-make. But, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer awfulness that was this film.
Two friends from work and I went to go see it and all three of us sat there, mouths open in disbelief that this piece of twaddle actually made it onto the big screen (or any screen).
There is absolutely nothing endearing to say about this poor, scum of a film that managed to plummet the legend that is FAME into a murky puddle of repulsive acting, uninspired singing and dancing and sheer lack of substance. The characters are uninteresting, and unbelievable (apart from the classically trained pianist turned singer, none of the other PA kids have an ounce of real talent). I can't even recall the names of any of the characters, because I was that uninterested in their over-the-top, cheesy, teenage angst performances. I found myself upset that the kid with the imitation flock of seagulls haircut was saved from jumping in front of a subway train.
I feel for former Frasier star Kelsey Grammar, whose cameo performance aptly reflects his regret at agreeing to this shoddy piece of cinema, and the under-used, and abused Megan Mullaly who got my only snicker of a laugh throughout the entire film for a sarcastic remark.
As for the story lines - they were weak, poorly-developed (at one point the blonde ballerina, who we think may have been dating one of the PA students, just disappears from the film and no one seems to notice or care). The characters of Marko and his pretentious, overly-acted girlfriend had all the cheese, and none of the chemistry (read acting talent) to pull off an honest romance.
As for the choreography, simple, pedestrian and definitely not what you would expect from the top performing arts students in the country. Personally, the burlesque, slutty dance performance towards the end of the film was in poor taste and, in my opinion, a meager attempt by the director to gain some audience interest - sadly to no avail.
Dance films are supposed to inspire and have a general reputation of feel-good cinema, and all Fame made me feel was anger - at one point my friend actually drop-kicked the screen (I am not exaggerating).
To the scriptwriters who wrote this film, the producers who commissioned it, the director who took it on, the future D-List actors who were cast in it, and everyone who contributed in some way to the making of this film - you should be ashamed ...
Two friends from work and I went to go see it and all three of us sat there, mouths open in disbelief that this piece of twaddle actually made it onto the big screen (or any screen).
There is absolutely nothing endearing to say about this poor, scum of a film that managed to plummet the legend that is FAME into a murky puddle of repulsive acting, uninspired singing and dancing and sheer lack of substance. The characters are uninteresting, and unbelievable (apart from the classically trained pianist turned singer, none of the other PA kids have an ounce of real talent). I can't even recall the names of any of the characters, because I was that uninterested in their over-the-top, cheesy, teenage angst performances. I found myself upset that the kid with the imitation flock of seagulls haircut was saved from jumping in front of a subway train.
I feel for former Frasier star Kelsey Grammar, whose cameo performance aptly reflects his regret at agreeing to this shoddy piece of cinema, and the under-used, and abused Megan Mullaly who got my only snicker of a laugh throughout the entire film for a sarcastic remark.
As for the story lines - they were weak, poorly-developed (at one point the blonde ballerina, who we think may have been dating one of the PA students, just disappears from the film and no one seems to notice or care). The characters of Marko and his pretentious, overly-acted girlfriend had all the cheese, and none of the chemistry (read acting talent) to pull off an honest romance.
As for the choreography, simple, pedestrian and definitely not what you would expect from the top performing arts students in the country. Personally, the burlesque, slutty dance performance towards the end of the film was in poor taste and, in my opinion, a meager attempt by the director to gain some audience interest - sadly to no avail.
Dance films are supposed to inspire and have a general reputation of feel-good cinema, and all Fame made me feel was anger - at one point my friend actually drop-kicked the screen (I am not exaggerating).
To the scriptwriters who wrote this film, the producers who commissioned it, the director who took it on, the future D-List actors who were cast in it, and everyone who contributed in some way to the making of this film - you should be ashamed ...