Fame (2009)I have fond memories of the TV series, Fame, from my childhood years in the early 1980s. I could recall Julie (Lori Singer aka Wren from Footloose) and some girl named Doris and a grumpy teacher named Mr. Shorofsky. The show dances (no pun intended) on the edges of my memory. I loved the theme song? Hmmmm.....
Well, I love dance movies. Surely that would be enough to make me love this new incarnation of Fame and yet it wasn't. I found this film disappointing and perhaps that is because I was mentally comparing it to the 1982 TV series of the same name and not to the 1980 film that is actually remaking. Somehow I doubt that is the only reason.
It felt like we never got to know the characters well enough to care about them and I kept watching for a Doris or a Leroy or a Julie or Coco and they never showed up. Watching the you tube clips of the 1980s stuff it all seems very white, classical music/ballet/violin etc. or maybe that's just the main characters. The current film has a much more rap-inner city-gritty feel. That's neither a criticism nor a praise, it's just an observation. The 2009 film did feature wonderful acting talent in the form of Fraiser and Lilith Crane... er, I mean Kelsey Grammer & Bebe Neuwirth. Oh, and Megan Mullally.
I think I would have enjoyed watching the 1980 film and reliving the memories rather than watching this new incarnation, but maybe that's just me.
Well, I love dance movies. Surely that would be enough to make me love this new incarnation of Fame and yet it wasn't. I found this film disappointing and perhaps that is because I was mentally comparing it to the 1982 TV series of the same name and not to the 1980 film that is actually remaking. Somehow I doubt that is the only reason.
It felt like we never got to know the characters well enough to care about them and I kept watching for a Doris or a Leroy or a Julie or Coco and they never showed up. Watching the you tube clips of the 1980s stuff it all seems very white, classical music/ballet/violin etc. or maybe that's just the main characters. The current film has a much more rap-inner city-gritty feel. That's neither a criticism nor a praise, it's just an observation. The 2009 film did feature wonderful acting talent in the form of Fraiser and Lilith Crane... er, I mean Kelsey Grammer & Bebe Neuwirth. Oh, and Megan Mullally.
I think I would have enjoyed watching the 1980 film and reliving the memories rather than watching this new incarnation, but maybe that's just me.
************************
UPDATE: Searching for a video for the original theme song on You Tube led me to the 1980 film in 10 minute chunks which I got sucked in one at a time until I'd watched the entire film. Oops. Yes, this is definitely the superior film. And on a side note I didn't realize Sharon Cooper (Maureen Teefy) from Grease 2 played Doris in this film version.
No comments:
Post a Comment