Fame (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:101
Fresh:28
Rotten:73
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: Fame is ultimately undone by its choppy editing, its incomplete characterizations, and its apparent desire to appeal to the High School Musical generation.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Theatrical Release:25-09-2009
Synopsis: A reinvention of the original Oscar®-winning 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... [More]
Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, Kay Panabaker, Bebe Neuwirth
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Reviews for Fame
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Click to read the article Full Review |
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 1/5 |
This film makes even the most gaudy of Saturday night TV talent contests look like Dostoyevsky in comparison. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Culturally derivative, structurally bland and almost meaningless. Full Review |
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1/5 |
The awful truth about no one from the Fame movie or TV show going on to become famous may not yet have dawned on the cast of this new and bizarrely pointless remake. Full Review |
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 3/5 |
Fans of the original won't care if this lives forever, but when the kids' High School Musical DVDs finally become too scratched to play, this should be waiting in the wings. Full Review |
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4/5 |
This may not please MTV fans but will appeal to primetime TV family audiences who've grown to expect the slickness of The X Factor's production values. Loads of talent and plenty of pretty faces. What's not to like? Full Review |
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2/5 |
Virtually everything about Allison Burnett's screenplay is blander, dumber and less daring than the original. Full Review |
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3/5 |
But its well-intentioned message and some likeable characters mean the teenage target audience should find plenty to enjoy. Full Review |
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2/5 |
The cinematic equivalent of America's Got Talent... Sadly, though, there is no Simon Cowell - and more importantly, no red buzzer. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Unconnected shreds of plot suggest severe editing at some stage and neither characters nor musical routines add up to much. Full Review |
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3/5 |
The world has hardly been breathlessly awaiting a new version of Fame and an older generation will probably find it uncomfortably corny with showbusiness schmaltz smoothing away the rougher edges of the more adult original. Full Review |
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3/5 |
The film does deliver a commendable message about the importance of talent and hard work as opposed to instant, Pop Idol-style celebrity. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Fame 2009 has turns rather than scenes, and its interchangeable students don't have names to remember so much as tags: "angry", "nervy", "blonde". Most can sing or dance, though the relentless exhibitionism grows tiring. Full Review |
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Tancharoen’s background shows and steps in to save the film: highlights include an infectious rap in the canteen, a Hallowe’en “Carnevil,” and a show-stopper in a club, courtesy of Naughton. Full Review |
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The fragmented narrative of high school kids pursuing their dreams (job security) has just barely more feel and understanding of what it's like to be young than 17 Again . Full Review |
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2/4 |
Remember the theme song? "I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry . . . Fame/I'm gonna live forever/Baby, remember my name." Sadly, none of that applies to this hollow, impersonal movie. Full Review |
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1/5 |
Click to read the article Full Review |
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B+ |
Its lack of melodrama and shock value make it all the more refreshing. Consider this film a grittier, inner city cousin of HSM and that's no back handed compliment Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
A little too scrubbed and sanitized, with the sharper realities of showbiz sanded down to a PG level. Full Review |
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1/5 |
a totally unoriginal and unnecessary remake that runs far, far away from anything edgy, controversial or interesting. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Fame
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...
September 20, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with Fame's Kevin Tancharoen
Though barely into his mid 20s, Kevin Tancharoen is, as the cliché goes, already something of an industry veteran. With a background in both dance and filmmaking, he's moved... More...
June 17, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: Fame 
Following up on April's teaser, the "Fame" reboot now has a full-length trailer. Will it live forever? Head over to Yahoo! and see for yourself. More...
April 19, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
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