As a parent, there’s not much to dislike about an uplifting school movie. Any film that shows young people working hard and striving for their dreams against insurmountable odds, with a PG rating, should be a no-brainer.
This weekend there’s a movie just like opening: “Fame.” Yes, that “Fame.” The one you remember from almost three decades ago about the school full of performing arts kids that started as a popular movie, became a popular television show and made household name of Debbie Allen. THAT “Fame” is back, with a mostly new cast but the same premise: a diverse group of kids chase their dreams at a performing arts school in New York City.
The Academy Award winning 1980 film “Fame” was rated R. The 2009 reimagning has dropped down considerably, to a PG. However the fine print says “PG for thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language.,” which sounds like stretching that PG rating right to its PG-13 limit.
And that might not be a problem for many parents, depending on the ages of their kids, if the film is good and teaches some lessons.
“That fame seems assured to those who merely crave it – without sacrifice, or spiritual and physical effort – emerges as the underlying message in this sanitized and unrewarding production,” says Greg Quill of The Toronto Star, basically shattering that hope. However, Christie Lemire of The Associated Press basically feels the opposite way about the film’s message. “In a world where people aspire for instant recognition by making idiots of themselves on reality TV, there’s still something appealing about the idea of working hard for artistic glory — potentially failing and suffering rejection, but persevering nonetheless,” she writes. “Familiar? Yes, but not nearly as vapid as most of the musical material out there that encourages teens to believe fame is all that matters.”
But while some people are split over the moral message of the movie, the critical response overall seems pretty cut and dry (there are, of course, some people who like the film, and hate it, more than others.) Roger Ebert does the best job of summing up that response: “The new ‘Fame’ is a sad reflection of the new Hollywood, where material is sanitized and dumbed down for a hypothetical teen market that is way too sophisticated for it. It plays like a dinner theater version of the original.”
So it seems if your kids love singing and dancing then they will find things to like about “Fame.” If not, it might not be worth your hard earned money.
That money will be well spent next week when we cover the “Toy Story 1 and 2 Double Feature in 3D” and “More Than a Game” starring Lebron James.
