Unfortunately, we won’t remember any of their names. What promised to be a great movie simply turned out to be an extended demo reel for So You Think You Can Dance. What should have been a celebration of high school angst in a high school for performing arts turned out to be clichéd performing arts stereotypes and overdone non-dramatic story lines.
I don’t know how a film about high school students could be so boring but this one. Of course, it will sell well because all of the performing arts people will flock to see it. What the producers don’t realize is that people won’t want to see it more than once because we don’t care about most of the characters.
For those wanting to see a recreation of the original Fame, don’t bother. This is a repurposed Fame for the benefit of the current creative team. The only song that is revisited is Out Here On My Own. The original theme song doesn’t appear until the closing credits. The creative team seemed more interested in making their own lights shine rather than the lights of their unknown stars. Debbie Allen is seen onscreen more than other performers. You see too much of the teachers rather than the students. Also, Debbie Allen’s Afrocentric dance gets a shining moment as does a Wade Robson-esque Freak Carnival scene (straight from SYTYCD).
Unfortunately, this movie is unmemorable and better seen on DVD when it comes out in two weeks.
I rate this movie three watches.
Viewed on 09/25/09 at Clearview Zigfeld Theater (NYC).
BTW, this post represents 3/4ths of a year without cable TV.
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