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Fame
Metascore
39 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 26
  3. Negative: 8 out of 26
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Much of the movie has a structureless, documentary feeling to it, which is good and should have been pushed further.
  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    75
    A film that's largely a raw, uplifting love letter to creativity in every possible form.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    63
    Since I sort of liked "Step Up 2: The Streets," I'm not surprised I sort of liked the remake of Fame.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    60
    Whether the young ensemble attains it remains to be seen. The standouts, though, are Naughton, Pennie and Perez De Tagle.
  5. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    60
    It helps that Fame has been cast with performers who have the glow of possibility about them.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Stephen Farber
    50
    It's almost laughably bland and watered-down in its desire to appeal to the widest possible audience. It won't succeed in that goal, but it has enough pizzazz to captivate undemanding tweeners.
  7. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    A sad reflection of the new Hollywood, where material is sanitized and dumbed down for a hypothetical teen market that is way too sophisticated for it. It plays like a dinner theater version of the original.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    50
    So little time is devoted to developing characters that it's hard to share their hopes and fears.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    50
    Fame offers slick entertainment with some exuberance, but it's devoid of soul or heart.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    It's not a good sign when the first few minutes of a movie about singing, dancing, rapping, video-camera-wielding teenagers reminds you of a certain grimy horror franchise.
  11. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    50
    A cheesy production with underdeveloped characters that feels more like a TV pilot than a self-contained motion picture.
  12. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Stephen Cole
    50
    Perhaps the young performers are in such a good mood because they're liberated from having to play straight-as-a-ruler teen melodrama.
  13. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    50
    The teachers (including original cast member Debbie Allen as school principal) turn out to be the best part of the show.
  14. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Melissa Anderson
    50
    The sanitized moppets in the new Fame sing the body generic.
  15. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Andy Webster
    50
    While the movie suffers from a surfeit of flash, it nonetheless offers the undeniable power of young performers pursuing art at peak dexterity.
  16. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Dan Zak
    50
    This new Fame, whitewashed for the kids, leaps into a catchy rhythm at the start.
  17. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    40
    The opening montage is a jazzy, grabby thing, artfully layering the kids' auditions to mimic the frenzied pace of the day. But that freneticism never really goes away, nor does the staccato timing.
  18. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    40
    This PG-rated offering thus dances along a fine line -- one that suggests a shelf-life well short of its "I wanna live forever" anthem.
  19. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    38
    Offers about as much flava as a Dr. Pepper commercial and about as much drama as a "Sesame Street" rerun.
  20. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Betsy Sharkey
    30
    Someone has driven a stake through the heart and ripped out the soul of the 1980 original. The responsible parties, make that irresponsible parties, should be found, thrown in movie jail and not allowed within 50 feet of a set again. Ever.
  21. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    30
    The high school is so sanitized that there are no drugs, cutthroat competition, or--inconceivably for a theatrical milieu--no gay students.
  22. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    25
    The new Fame is practically identical to Alan Parker's 1980 original -- I mean, it's the same damn movie -- except for all the parts with heart and humor and poignancy and soul and fun.
  23. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    25
    The cowardly producers have banished the grit and darkness of Parker's original.
  24. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Elias Savada
    20
    Sadly, everything is predictable, which is to the detriment of the mostly fine, young talent that appears in this ineffective retread.
  25. NPR
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    15
    My advice to potential audiences: Find something else to do.
  26. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    0
    Fame has today's usual gritty form of slick to it, but in every other way it's an Amateur Hour and a half.
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User Reviews

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User Score
3.9 out of 10

Generally unfavorable- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 5 out of 9
  1. grandpajoe6191
    3
    "Fame", the updated version of the 1980's version, has nothing new. It's the same funky dances with dull music with a terrible cast. Most of all, they didn't fix the terrible wrap up the original one suffered. This is a movie where its terrible to the heart.… Full Review »
  2. Sabrinna
    1
    BORING. If these people are talented, it's actually very hard to tell. The original Fame movie was awesome. This movie is pathetic. It's that simple. Yes, they can be compared. If you're going to remake a cult classic, you should have a clue. If you can't improve on it, leave it alone. These days there are many performing art schools and they don't all do hip-hop (shock horror!). In fact you may find that most artists are interested in diversifying rather than recreating the same-old same-old. My advice - Ignore this movie was ever made because it shouldn't have been.… Full Review »
  3. WilliamC
    6
    From this moment forward, I'm going to completely forget that the original Broadway production existed. That's not to say that this rendition of Fame was better or worse, but I do believe that comparing them is not fair. You have to remember that there is nearly a 30-year difference between the media, which grants a large difference between what can and what will change. With that being said, I feel as if this movie actually did a decent job in doing what it was should - bringing an entertaining moving and showing what recalling happens in an art school. The plot as much goes in the same boat as sever that we have seen before. We watch the lives of several students as the go from bumbling and hopeful applicants in a prestigious arts school in New York City, to prospering and proud graduates. Yet it's not all fun and games, as each of the selected ten students have their own trials and tribulations in their friends of dance, music, and acting. Along the way, their teachers who add their own flavor and advice will guide them. These little gems by people like Kelsey Grammer and Charles S. Dunton layer on an impressive and applaud-worthy amount of attention and detail to what these kids should be learning. They fully immerse themselves into the role of molding their minds into what they need to be. For delivering the story of each of the characters, director Kevin Tancharoen did an interesting and stuck it to the parts that were only worth telling. When I say that, He doesn't show you each of their love loves, or what their careers are - in fact he barely gives them enough face time to know who they are - but sticks to what's enough to give them their motivation and drive. The passion of each character is what makes this movie and that's what pushes this movie along past it's four "years." However when done in this fashion, you do run into the issue of what I mentioned just a moment ago; not knowing who is who. It wasn't until the end of them move where I could clearly recognize anyone, let alone remember anyone's name clearly. I did say that I wouldn't compare this to the Broadway original, but considering that this was on Broadway, it's safe to assume that the music was left as well. One has to realize that you are watching a movie about NYC preps in arts school. Yet most of the musical numbers were not spontaneous or over-excessive (though the first main number did nearly break that second one). The majority had a purpose and flowed with the plot, which is always a plus, in the aftermath of the High School Musical trilogy. Yet the highlight of this little aural romp was the fact that overall, there was no true happy ending. Sure, people got what they needed, but not in the way that they expected it. It was true in the way that real life would finish out for kids. It’s a little bit of reality wedged into a lot of fantastical imagery and melody. The movie overall is good. Could things have been done better? Yes, yet that can be said with almost any movie. This is, however, a movie that you have to want to watch, much like Rent or West Side Story. If you walk into those and you are either not prepared or they are not what you enjoy, then you are going to be disappointed and will not experience the full potential you were meant to get.… Full Review »
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