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88
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71
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60
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45
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74
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63
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xx
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53
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69
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64
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62
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White on Rice
74
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69
World's Greatest Dad
69
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xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Fame
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Musical
Written by: Allison Burnett
Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 25, 2009
Running Time: minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language
Starring Asher Book, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, and Bebe Neuwirth
Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame...the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work. (MGM)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
A film that’s largely a raw, uplifting love letter to creativity in every possible form.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Much of the movie has a structureless, documentary feeling to it, which is good and should have been pushed further.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Since I sort of liked “Step Up 2: The Streets,” I’m not surprised I sort of liked the remake of Fame.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
Whether the young ensemble attains it remains to be seen. The standouts, though, are Naughton, Pennie and Perez De Tagle.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
So little time is devoted to developing characters that it's hard to share their hopes and fears.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
A cheesy production with underdeveloped characters that feels more like a TV pilot than a self-contained motion picture.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
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.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Farber
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.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
Perhaps the young performers are in such a good mood because they're liberated from having to play straight-as-a-ruler teen melodrama.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The teachers (including original cast member Debbie Allen as school principal) turn out to be the best part of the show.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
Fame offers slick entertainment with some exuberance, but it's devoid of soul or heart.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
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.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Dan Zak
This new Fame, whitewashed for the kids, leaps into a catchy rhythm at the start.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Melissa Anderson
The sanitized moppets in the new Fame sing the body generic.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Andy Webster
While the movie suffers from a surfeit of flash, it nonetheless offers the undeniable power of young performers pursuing art at peak dexterity.
Read Full Review >Variety Brian Lowry
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.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams
Offers about as much flava as a Dr. Pepper commercial and about as much drama as a “Sesame Street” rerun.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
The high school is so sanitized that there are no drugs, cutthroat competition, or--inconceivably for a theatrical milieu--no gay students.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey
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.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
The cowardly producers have banished the grit and darkness of Parker’s original.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
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.
Read Full Review >NPR Jeannette Catsoulis
My advice to potential audiences: Find something else to do.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Fame has today's usual gritty form of slick to it, but in every other way it's an Amateur Hour and a half.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.