Critics Pick: FAME

How far would you go to be famous?

In the heart of New York lies The New York City High School of Performing Arts (PA), and a super talented class of eager freshmen who are dying to make it big. Such is the setting for the new flick Fame, a remake of the 1980 Oscar-winning hit. While the movie lands in theaters today, September 25, we caught it before anyone else and have to say it has everything HSM has (cute guys, awesome choreography and music) and much more.

The movie follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors and artists through four years at PA, an ultra-competitive school that thrives on training young hopefuls to live out their artistic dreams through tons of practice and hard work. And while the talented teens train for success, they must also deal with normal issues everyday high schoolers face (super-strict parents, plummeting grades, budding romances and more).
There’s Denise, a phenomenal pianist who just wants to sing (and let us tell you, the girl can belt it out) but is too afraid to stand up to her conservative, strict parents. Malik, a kid straight from the streets is trying to move beyond his shattered past through acting and spinning. Jenny (played by GL’s Oct/Nov cover girl, Kay Panabaker) is a naïve actress-in-training, but is having trouble shaking her wobbly confidence. Cutie Asher Book plays Marco, a phenomenal singer who starts to fall for Jenny, but will his charming smile get him to where he needs to be? (If you haven’t fallen for Asher already, you definitely will after seeing this movie.)

There’s also Alice, a super-rich dancer who must handle an overbearing fam—especially when she starts dating Victor, the school’s rebel keyboardist. Joy (played by Camp Rock’s Anna Maria Perez De Tagle) is a budding actress whose mouth running constantly gets her in trouble. Neil, a comical striving director sees the school as his set, with everyone an active character. And then there’s Kevin, a mid-western boy trying to make it as a classical ballerina, but will he be good enough?

As each student strives for his or her big break, they discover who among them has the required discipline and drive to move past the stress and lies of show business and everyday life to succeed.

Unlike most music and dance-inspired high school flicks (a la Step Up and Bring It On), the cast is filled with talented actors who make everything look natural and their emotion is truly felt through the screen. The choreography will make you want to dance out of your seat and the high caliber of the performances will make you feel like you’re right there (yes, we actually clapped after a few of them).

With every character bringing something different to the storyline, it’s easy to fall in love and relate to at least one.

The movie doesn’t flow as much as one would hope, but that’s mainly because it tries to evenly approach each character’s story and situation. And while it’s a tad annoying that life flashes before your eyes as four years progress within a span of 105 minutes—just as you’re starting to really connect with the characters—the movie definitely leaves you yearning for more.

Check out the official Fame music video below…

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5B1QTEGL3t0


Grab your parents and let them re-live their Fame days. The movie’s rated PG, making it appropriate for the entire fam.

Will you be seeing Fame? Who’s your favorite character? Blog about it, superstars.

By: Patricia McNamara

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9/25/2009 10:43:00 AM
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