7.9

Fame Extended Dance Edition

The original movie Fame was quite an inspirational film for its day and was the catalyst of dance films to come. Almost 30 years later and with the current climate of remakes, Hollywood have created a new interpretation of this music & dance classic which features a variety of actors to help bring this movie to life.

It's also understandable with so many talent and reality shows pushing the current dance phenomena, it was understandable that director Kevin Tancharoen would attempt to recreate the spark of the original movie.

With that said, the story revolves around a group of attractive teenagers from all different walks of life who are hoping to make it in the world of entertainment at their prestigious school, the New York City High School of Performing Arts.

This includes Jenny Garrison (Kay Panabaker), Denise Dupress (Naturi Naughton), Neil Baczysky (Paul Iacono) and Malik Washburn (Collins Pennie) who are singers, filmmakers and the like.

Even though they banded together, the road to "fame" is fraught with conflicts and difficulty but together they seek solace in each other for the support they need. Fortunately they also have the support from some of the teachers their that include the wonderful Kelsey Grammer as Mr. Martin Cranston and Debbie Allen as Ms. Angela Simms.

Although the original story was probably more powerful due to its setting, the modern interpretation feels a little too perfect and the world a tad artificial. Still, the actors should not be blamed and create some powerful performances which features some great spectacular musical scenes, however the MTV style of dance is just a little too glossy to be taken seriously, albeit still a joy to watch.

On DVD, the video and audio is quite spectacular and slick which matches the glossy feel of this film. Of course the new version of Fame as to some extents even the original is not everyone's cup of tea, however for those tweens and teens that enjoy the popular music and dance reality TV shows, than this may be the perfect antidote for some fun and mindless entertainment.

Special Features

The Extended Dance Edition of FAME has over 15 minutes of never before seen footage including more dance sequences, more stars and even more high energy
Music Video
The Dances of FAME - featurette