"Fame" promotional poster courtesy of MGM
As the lights went down, the small audience got excited for the start of what was expected by some to be the next “Rent.” With maybe 12 people in the theater, the popularity of the film did not look promising.
The movie started with a catchy song and flashing lights that read “FAME” when lit up. Soon after, the first scene showed a group of young adults auditioning for the New York Performing Arts Academy. Naturally all of the introduced characters made it into the school. After auditions, the movie followed the group of teenagers through their high school years.
The movie mainly followed Jenny Garrison (Kay Panabaker) and her boyfriend Marco (Asher Book), two up-and-coming vocalists as they moved through high school together and attempted to achieve stardom. Denise Dupree (Naturi Naughton) was another main character; her interest in piano soon led to a passion for singing, something that was not acceptable in her parents’ eyes until the conclusion of the film. Artistic struggles were merged with adolescent strife as the characters moved through a competitive, arts-based high school. Despite the movie’s initial focus on these characters, their development was not followed through to the conclusion of the film.
The movie showcased the talented students’ dancing, singing and acting ability. The actors had incredible singing and dancing prowess.
“It was very energetic,” said Lupita Ortega, an 18-year-old international affairs major. “It made me want to sing along with the songs. The singers were very talented.”
Despite the actors’ musical abilities, the talent ended there. The plot was dull and hard to follow as storylines overlapped and resolutions were neglected. The film would have been much better if there had been any follow-through to the plot.
“The previews were deceiving because they made the audience believe it would be a musical but it wasn’t,” said Andrea Tice, a freshman Japanese major. “It just had performances, and it was a bit confusing.”
Contrary to expectations from the film’s title, fame was not in the equation for any of the characters, other than one supporting character being hired for a role on “Sesame Street” and another’s spot on a modern dance company the characters’ lives climaxed at graduation.
The film’s scattered plot and poor acting made “Fame” more of a miss than a hit. Redemption may have been found if the famous song “Fame” played during the film, but it wasn’t introduced until the credits rolled.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lynda Hutchinson at Lynda.Hutchinson@colorado.edu.
