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Just because Fame is a well-acted musical doesn't mean it flinches against its surprisingly heavy topics.
All Critics (29) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (24) | Rotten (5) | DVD (6)
Fame isn't only the best musical of the summer, it's one of the best films of any genre -- a fresh and funky, sassy and brassy, gutty and gritty, slick and smart piece of work. Apr 28, 2018 | Full Review…
Fame isn't only the best musical of the summer, it's one of the best films of any genre -- a fresh and funky, sassy and brassy, gutty and gritty, slick and smart piece of work.
Bruce McCabe
Every once in a while what appears to be the entire student body pours out into the street to do song-and-dance numbers, some of which are cheerful enough, but all of which break faith with the film's realistic premise. Sep 8, 2010 | Full Review…
Every once in a while what appears to be the entire student body pours out into the street to do song-and-dance numbers, some of which are cheerful enough, but all of which break faith with the film's realistic premise.
Richard Schickel
The film is cut at such a frenzied pitch that it's often possible to believe (mistakenly) that something significant is going on. Sep 8, 2010 | Full Review…
The film is cut at such a frenzied pitch that it's often possible to believe (mistakenly) that something significant is going on.
Dave Kehr
Alan Parker has come up with an exposure for some of the most talented youngsters seen on screen in years. There isn't a bad performance in the lot. Jun 9, 2008 | Full Review…
Alan Parker has come up with an exposure for some of the most talented youngsters seen on screen in years. There isn't a bad performance in the lot.
Variety Staff
It's a crack at the American Dream which carries all the exhilaration and depth of a 133-minute commercial break. Jan 26, 2006 | Full Review…
It's a crack at the American Dream which carries all the exhilaration and depth of a 133-minute commercial break.
A genuine treasure, moving and entertaining. Oct 23, 2004 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
A genuine treasure, moving and entertaining.
Roger Ebert
Director Alan Parker has reinvented effectively the old musical movie genre of let's put on a show in a way that speaks directly to younger viewers Apr 21, 2011 | Rating: B | Full Review…
Director Alan Parker has reinvented effectively the old musical movie genre of let's put on a show in a way that speaks directly to younger viewers
Emanuel Levy
Raw look at teen life more shocking than you might recall. Dec 19, 2010 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Raw look at teen life more shocking than you might recall.
Kari Croop
What recommends Fame to whatever degree that it doesn't totally suck is that Parker's still content at this point in his career to not resolve every single storyline Sep 28, 2010 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
What recommends Fame to whatever degree that it doesn't totally suck is that Parker's still content at this point in his career to not resolve every single storyline
Walter Chaw
The song and dance scenes are hard to beat in terms of sheer energy and atmosphere, but the dramatic storylines leave several loose ends. Sep 8, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
The song and dance scenes are hard to beat in terms of sheer energy and atmosphere, but the dramatic storylines leave several loose ends.
Anna Smith
Nearly thirty years after its debut, Alan Parker's Fame remains, in its way, even fresher than its glossy 2009 remake Oct 26, 2009 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Nearly thirty years after its debut, Alan Parker's Fame remains, in its way, even fresher than its glossy 2009 remake
Jason McKiernan
As Fame begins to unspool and you realize that the movie's a lot more endearingly grimy and profane than you recall...just blame it on that stupid TV knockoff. Apr 11, 2004 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
As Fame begins to unspool and you realize that the movie's a lot more endearingly grimy and profane than you recall...just blame it on that stupid TV knockoff.
Scott Weinberg
A delightful and compelling drama with a wonderful soundtrack and a gallery of characters that we really learn to care about, and the best is to see that it is told so fluidly in loosely organized fragments and never loses its pacing thanks to the great editing.
Super Reviewer
I've always liked the song Fame. It took me 28 years to see the movie. I enjoyed the music and dancing. As a film I thought it was mediocre - too many draggy scenes.
"I celebrate the me yet to come." Recognizing all its flaws, I unabashedly love Fame. I understand that the characters fall into stereotypes, and I think many of their stories never reach a cathartic or dramatic conclusion; this is especially true of Ralph and Leroy. Also, these are oh-so-clearly adults playing teens; it even seems written that way most of the time. However, Fame achieves a complexity found in few films and almost no musicals. How is it that - for me - this film worked as both a cautionary tale and an inspiration? How is it that I recognized so many people from the acting world in these loosely drawn characters? Parker's direction and the rather spontaneous musical numbers embody the passion, ambition, dedication, triumphs, disappointments, and blindnesses that afflict these people. More to the point, I've known some artists whose talent amazed me, but yet you don't know them. You know talentless hacks, many of whom can't act dead. Each of these people recognizes that what most likely awaits them is a boulevard of broken dreams, spoiled ambitions, and a life counting their tips, hoping enough is there for rent, but each is also driven by an indomitable spirit. Fame's achievement is capturing all that on film, even to some degree into one fantastic scene toward the end (Irene Cara's nude scene - you'll know what I mean if you see the film). Additionally, I enjoyed the peripherals: the stage mother, the broken home, the absent but financially generous parents. All of these exist in varying forms. Overall, it takes some effort to see past this film's flaws, but once you do, you won't be disappointed with what lies at its core.
Wildly entertaining, contains vivid musical sequences, and has all the repressed teenage emotion and show business catastrophe involved in a performing arts high school, or even Hollywood in general. The title song was a winner, and the breakthrough actors, who dealt with such issues as poverty, ethnic prejudice, and homosexuality, are sadly less known then they should be. A teen survival tale like none other.
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