Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally ...( see more  see more... ) , Bebe Neuwirth , Charles S. Dutton , Kherington Payne , Debbie Allen , Walter Perez , Paul McGill , Paul Iacono , Asher Book , Collins Pennie

A reinvention of the original 1980 hit film, Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, crea...( read more  read more... )tive powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame...the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work. In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, plagued by self-doubt, each student's passion will be put to the test. In addition to their artistic goals, they have to deal with everything else that goes along with high school, a tumultuous time full of schoolwork, deep friendships, budding romance, and self-discovery. As each student strives for his or her moment in the spotlight, they'll discover who among them has the innate talent and necessary discipline to succeed. With the love and support of their friends and fellow artists, they'll find out who amongst them will achieve Fame...

Flixster Users

47% liked it

186,339 ratings

Critics

27% liked it

103 critics

PG, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen

Release Date: September 25, 2009

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DVD Release Date: January 12, 2010

Stats: 7,226 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (7,226)


  • February 1, 2010
    There isn't much to say about Fame. A bunch of kids are at a performing arts school being trained by Lilith, Frasier, and Rock (let's see if you get that last one kids!). Endlessly dull to the point you'll be looking for somehting to fiddle around with at the half way point. Yes,...( read more) the kids struggle. We know that. It happened in the original. If they really wanted to succeed they would be auditioning on American Idol, not paying Sideshow Bob thousands of dollars to eventually flunk out. Let's put this one to sleep real fast, it's a dose of benadryl on a cold winters day. Thank god for apps...
  • January 15, 2010
    In this era of "talent" movies coming out left, right, and center, I was really looking forward to this movie! Big disappointment! Character buildup was basically nonexistent, plot was quite weak, and there was really no crescendo to anything. The best part of the movie (which...( read more) still wasn't as good as it could have been) was the final performance at the end of the movie. If you are looking for some good movies to top this one... well, any one will do. I recommend Honey, Center Stage (1 and 2), Stomp, Feel The Noise, Drumline, and Step Up (1 and 2). Your heart will pump and your adrenaline flow with these ones. Fame (2009)... not so much.
  • October 25, 2009
    This movie is shot like a documentary following a group of teenagers from their auditions to their graduation from the Performing Arts school in New York. It is not as wholesome as High School Musical, nor is it as gritty as the original Fame movie. The music is modern and releva...( read more)nt for today's reality TV addicts.
  • October 16, 2009
    ''You have talent. Now let's see what we can do with it.''

    An updated version of the 1980 musical, which centered on the students of the New York Academy of Performing Arts.

    Kay Panabaker: Jenny Garrison

    Lets get this straight, did this remake want to be a remak...( read more)e? Fame is trying to attain a modern vantage point on students aspiring to acting or music. The characters are different but some of their stories were mirrored, the fantastic musical score of the original film was largely ignored, and the film seemed to go out of its way to hide the fact that Performing Arts is a New York City institution. None of the students have New York accents, the girl who played Jenny was so miscast as the Doris Vinsecker mimic she should have sprouted pigtails and been telephoned to central America where she obviously originated, and the street scenes pinpointing New York as the locale for this movie were minimal.

    Character layering? There was minimal effort. Did you care when the girl who gets the gig with the modern dance company dumps her brokenhearted fellow PA student boyfriend? Why should you? They only appear together in 2 scenes prior to their breakup: when he is admiring her from afar as she dances a solo and when she invites him to a dinner with her parents to annoy them. When the dark girl (loosely modeled after the Coco character in the original) breaks into "Out Here on My Own," you want to laugh because she's a polar opposite: the product of a domineering father and passive mother who forbid her to do anything but continue on the classical pianist career path they launched her on. She's not out there on her own, she's being double-teamed by her stuffy parents and left to suffocate in an oppressive home environment. Ditto for other characters as well. We are left to wonder about many characters' emotional states because we haven't been made privy to what led up to them.

    Embracing the original score (with added genres to be true to present day) might have saved this flick. Including "Out Here On My Own," erroneously crooned in the middle of the movie, and the feeble salute to its namesake at the end when Fame plays over the credits, didn't do it for me. in fact it seemed to drone on prolonging the agony. The new music introduced in this film isn't remarkable or memorable, although obviously great dancing and singing doesn't always equal a great film.

    Kelsey Grammar, Debbie Allen, Bebe Neuwirth, and Megan Mullally give Fame a much needed boost in many scenes, but frequently diluted by the newbies. And maybe they didn't, because their portrayals of the four key administrators at this school were half-hearted and lifeless. For a school overflowing with creativity, the faculty had limited personas.
    And speaking of creativity, the original film was dead on depicting the students as lovable narcissistic ego maniacs passionate about the craft they hoped to perfect. There was none of that here. The film passes through these students' four years at PA without even a hint that they've mastered their craft or grown in any way.
    In short, the writing was bad, the acting mediocre, the direction was missing it's rightful flow, the editing was in sleep mode, and the score was a snore. Go watch and view the original. It might be a little dated but it's one fantastic thrill ride.
  • October 3, 2009
    This movie shouldn't be really called Fame since it's not a remake but rather another -completely different- form of the 1980 one; which by the way, unlike this one, was good. It's closer to High School Musical than it is to Fame.

    It was definitely ...( read more)entertaining, but the characters were very poorly developed and not at all appealing or sympathetic. The storyline and script are flat and lack focus and depth, while the movie is overall not engaging. The songs are songs you'd expect Miley Cyrus to sing, and the romance is just all over the place.

    So, why the one-and-a-half stars? Definitely for the choreography and dancing routines which are phenomenal! I love dance with all my heart and I was entertained, not bored and I just wanted to hop around after seeing it. There you have it!
  • February 9, 2010
    the music in there is amazing and the guy is so hot too good story too but really the guy is cute
  • February 9, 2010
    This movie didn't get good reviews but I really liked it. It was a nice movie.
  • February 9, 2010
    It should have been called "Lame" instead. There were a few standout performers (Payne and Panabaker), but the movie as a whole just didn't work.
  • February 9, 2010
    saudades dos anos 80
  • February 8, 2010
    Someone Kill me Please.

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Fame Trivia


  • Daniel Craig is the new 007. But in which British gangster film did he find fame?  Answer »
  • For which 2 dance movies did Irene Cara sing the theme song?  Answer »
  • These two buddy 'droids rocketed to fame in 1977 with the release of"Star Wars". What were the names of the fireplug and the gold guy?  Answer »
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