{"id":33509,"date":"2014-05-09T11:24:03","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T18:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=33509"},"modified":"2021-01-06T18:05:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T01:05:01","slug":"fame-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=33509","title":{"rendered":"Fame (1980)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;A real artist must never be afraid of what other people will say about him.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-33510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Poster.jpg 496w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA group of aspiring performing artists &#8212; including a nervous actress (Maureen Teefy) with an overly enmeshed mother (Tresa Hughes); an illiterate dancer (Gene Anthony Ray) with ample raw talent; the synthesizer-playing son (Lee Curreri) of a cab driver (Eddie Barth); an arrogant, spoiled ballerina (Antonia Franceschi); a dubiously talented lifelong dancer (Laura Dean); a closeted young gay actor (Paul McCrane); a hopeful but naive singer\/dancer (Irene Cara); and a Freddie Prinze-worshiping stand-up comedian (Barry Miller) &#8212; audition for placement at the prestigious New York High School of Performing Arts.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Parker Films<\/li>\n<li>Coming-of-Age<\/li>\n<li>Dancers<\/li>\n<li>Ensemble Cast<\/li>\n<li>High School<\/li>\n<li>Musicals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this &#8220;extremely entertaining and original seriocomic musical&#8221; &#8212; about a group of diverse students struggling to survive and thrive at a competitive performing arts high school in New York &#8212; not only demonstrates the development of their &#8220;individual talents&#8221;, but, &#8220;more significantly&#8221;, shows how they &#8220;simultaneously strip off their defenses and discover their elusive self-identities&#8221;. He writes that &#8220;director Alan Parker obviously has respect for [these] young people and their great talents (which are evident on the screen) as well as sympathy for their brave, masochistic attempts to make a living through their art&#8221;. As Peary points out, &#8220;the film&#8217;s comedy is consistently bright&#8221; and &#8220;the drama works well as long as Parker strives for poignancy rather than pathos (which occurs too often in the later stages of the film).&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>What stands out most vividly about the movie are the &#8220;imaginatively staged, free-for-all musical production numbers&#8221;, during which &#8220;everyone in the school jumps in spontaneously&#8221;, with &#8220;blacks, whites, and hispanics dancing together, ballet dancers rocking with students in wild street clothes, cellists jamming with drummers&#8221;; we truly &#8220;see spirited democracy at work, and no one worries about making fools of themselves&#8221;. While these numbers are far from realistic (who cares?), they nonetheless perfectly capture the vibrancy, enthusiasm, diligence, and creativity of this immensely talented group of teens &#8212; which makes it especially depressing to see how much they inevitably struggle to &#8220;make it&#8221; as artists in the &#8220;real world&#8221; (though Parker should be commended for authentically representing <em>this<\/em> aspect of their young existence, too). <\/p>\n<p>As Peary writes, the &#8220;entire film, not just the music, has rhythm&#8221;, which is &#8220;most evident in the dialogue [Christopher Gore wrote the screenplay] and the editing&#8221; (by Gerry Hambling). Indeed, other than its catchy score (by Michael Gore), the film&#8217;s fast-paced, finely calibrated editing is one of its most distinctive features &#8212; particularly during the first section (entitled &#8220;Auditions&#8221;; the remaining sections are divided into the four high school years). I also love how Parker manages to capture not only the immense ethnic and social diversity of these New York youths, but how <em>multi<\/em>-talented they must become to have a fighting chance of success as working artists. <\/p>\n<p>They must also prove themselves academically, at least in order to graduate &#8212; and it&#8217;s on this latter topic that the film ultimately flails a bit, as demonstrated in the interactions between Ray and his English teacher (Anne Meara), who doesn&#8217;t seem to have a clue that her defiant student may be struggling with issues far more complicated than mere motivation. I wish the screenplay spent more time on Ray (whose complex character is the most interesting by far) and less on the friendship\/love &#8220;triangle&#8221; between Teefy, Miller and McCrane &#8212; though their outing to see a midnight screening of <em>The Rocky Horror Picture Show<\/em> remains a fun cultural artifact. While <em>Fame<\/em> may ultimately try to cover a bit too much territory in one feature-length film (the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0083412\/\">1982-1987 T.V. show spin-off<\/a> made complete sense!), it&#8217;s easy enough to focus on the parts that work exceptionally well &#8212; and, thankfully, many do. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Sadly, Ray (who played Leroy in both the film and T.V. series) apparently <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Anthony_Ray\">struggled enormously in his personal life, becoming HIV-positive and dying far too young (of a stroke) at 41<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A refreshing representation of diverse, talented New York teens<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Diversity.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Diversity.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Diversity.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Diversity-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Diversity-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fun glimpse at <em>The Rocky Horror Picture Show<\/em> in live action<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-RHPS.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-RHPS.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-RHPS.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-RHPS-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-RHPS-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Michael Seresin&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography3-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography3-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Cinematography2-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Excellent use of authentic New York locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-New-York-Locales.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-New-York-Locales.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33519\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-New-York-Locales.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-New-York-Locales-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-New-York-Locales-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Louis Falco&#8217;s choreography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Dance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Dance.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Dance.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Dance-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Dance-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Michael Gore&#8217;s vibrant score<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Music.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Music.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"408\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Music.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Music-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Fame-Music-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Seamless editing by Gerry Hambling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a (mostly) strong and unusual high school musical. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0080716\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/40247\/fame\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/fame\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;A real artist must never be afraid of what other people will say about him.&#8221; Synopsis: A group of aspiring performing artists &#8212; including a nervous actress (Maureen Teefy) with an overly enmeshed mother (Tresa Hughes); an illiterate dancer (Gene Anthony Ray) with ample raw talent; the synthesizer-playing son (Lee Curreri) of a cab driver (Eddie Barth); an arrogant, spoiled ballerina (Antonia Franceschi); a dubiously talented lifelong dancer (Laura Dean); a closeted young gay actor (Paul McCrane); a hopeful but&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=33509\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33509"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61969,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33509\/revisions\/61969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}