|
When I was a kid I wanted to play guitar. My parents
took me to see a piano teacher who insisted that I SHOULD
play piano (of course he did) because my fingers were too
small to effectively play guitar (which would imply they
were also too short to play piano but I digress) and my
parents—both smart folks to a tee—bought it because, well,
he was a music teacher and an expert. I took piano for two
years never truly mastering the instrument and messing around
with my guitar on the side because that’s what I wanted
to play. I’m no Stevie Ray Vaughn but I can play for my
own enjoyment something I never really learned to do with
the piano. See there was a rock god that was itching to
break out of my piano playing skin and piano just wasn’t
cool unless you were Elton John (and by that time we knew
he was gay). ***
Like me Denise Dupree (Naturi Naughton) in the remake
of “Fame” just wanted to rock out or in this case be a R’n’B
performer but she’s stuck studying classical piano (which
could be a good thing if she could look beyond next week
but like most kids she can’t). Some of the kids that she
ends up studying with at the arts high school end up gaining
professional gigs but just as many end up going home rejected
and dejected. She’s joined by a would-be filmmaker (Paul
Iacono), an actor who quickly turns professional (Maria
Perez de Tagle), talented singer (Asher Book), a ballerina
who takes the golden ticket (Kherington Payne) while leaving
her boyfriend behind (Walter Perez). All of these characters
are “types” that don’t have depth to them and, hence, their
tragedies, decisions and romances really don’t resonate.
***
Dancing, singing, fame seeking folks are around us all
the time and “American Idol” has become the new proving
ground replacing game shows as the proving ground for the
average person to become famous, make a little cash and
then move on to a question in a trivia game. When “Fame”
came out in the 1980’s it was the little film that could
made about kids going to a college designed to augment their
abilities and fine tune their talent. “Fame” also was as
memorable as “Flash Dance”—a bit of cinematic kitsch very
much of its time. It’s not “An American in Paris” more like
“Broadway Melody of 1936”. The TV series that the movie
spawned in the 80’s improved on the movie actually telling
worthwhile stories and crafting worthwhile characters. ***
The 2009 remake can’t even touch the lightweight original
film it’s an example of a film that fails to capture the
very essence that made the original film fun but inconsequential.
That’s not to say that “Fame” isn’t an enjoyable little
flick to pass the time. The original isn’t any great shakes
either but the remake packs too much action in with too
little time for the characters or to develop a believable
plot. That’s not a surprise given that we’re living in an
“American Idol” driven culture where every other segment
features someone being elevated or shot down. ***
The remake of “Fame” is nothing more than a series of
music video moments (much like the original film and “Flash
Dance”) influenced by our increasingly attention deficit
culture’s inability to sit still and actually WATCH a movie,
participate it in and recognize that entertainment consists
of something more than a thrill ride that must pack action
into every single moment. ---
Image & Sound:
If looks could kill, “Fame” would murder the competiton
with a dazzling Blu-ray presentation that positively pops
with rich colors and detail. Be aware that some of the handheld
camera work and shooting style does result in the occasional
soft image but on the whole if “Fame” was a performer on
“American idol” the image quality would allow it to win
thumbs up from Simon Cowell. ***
Audio sounds strong with a beautiful sounding lossless
5.1 presentation. ---
|
