Fame: New vs. Old

I apologize to Doug Walker for taking his Nostalgia Critic idea. But I watched the 2009 update of the movie “Fame” and had to use it.

(FAME! I’m gonna reach the SPOILERS!)

“Fame” tells of students in the New York High School of the Performing Arts (now called the Fiorello H. LaGuardia School of the Performing Arts, the school was renamed after the first version of “Fame” came out). From audition day to graduation, we see their journeys in their respective fields: singing, acting, dancing or music. We’ll also see their coming-of-age stories as well.

In the 1980 original, we’re introduced to Leroy (a dancer), Montgomery (an actor), Doris (an actor), Ralph (an actor), Coco (triple threat), Bruno (music), Lisa (dance) and Hilary (dance). And to their teachers: Mr. Shorofsky (music), Mrs. Sherwood (English), Miss Berg (dance) and Mr. Farrell (drama)

(Cast list respectively: Gene Anthony Ray, Paul McCrane, Maureen Teefy, Barry Miller, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean and Antonia Francheschi. Teachers, respectively: Albert Hague, Anne Meara, Joanna Merlin, and Jim Moody. Debbie Allen appears briefly in dance sequences as Lydia).

In the 2009 remake, we’re introduced to Jenny (actor), Malik (actor), Marco (actor), Neil (actor), Denise (music), Joy (actor), Kevin (dancer), Alice (dancer), Victor (music) and Rosie (dancer). And to their teachers: Mr. Dowd (acting), Ms. Kraft (dance), Ms. Rowan (singing) and Mr. Cranston (music).

(Cast list respectively: Kay Panabaker, Collins Pennie, Asher Book, Paul Iacono, Naturi Naughton, Anna Marie Perez de Tagle, Paul McGill, Kherington Payne, Walter Perez and Kristy Flores. Teachers, respectively: Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Neuwirth, Megan Mullally, and Kelsey Grammer. Debbie Allen appears as the principal, Angela Simms).

Are the characters of the remake carbon copies of the original? No. The closest really is that Kevin almost has Lisa’s exact storyline. There are shades of them—Leroy’s anger and lower class upbringing in Malik. Bruno’s orthodox style of music in Victor. Alice is very similar to Hilary.

Regarding storylines, which one is better? Frankly, the original one hands down. The 2009 remake isn’t really a remake. It was a way to cash in on the popularity of the High School Musical franchise. I’d add Glee, but I think “Fame” was released before Glee premiered or at least was made beforehand. And it’s clear. There are more performances in this than in the original and they are more polished. They are bigger than the movie. But the story surrounding them is kinda…eh.

We start with the auditions, but the story really begins with “Freshman Year.” You have Jenny as the perfectionist paired with Marco and Joy who are more laidback and crazy. Neil is a visionary director who is trying to make it big. Malik is an angry street kid who just wants to be angry and for his mother not to find out what school he is actually attending. We also meet Victor who clashes with Mr. Cranston over his music while Denise is a classical pianist because her dad wants her to be. Kevin wants to dance but isn’t quite so talented.  Alice, however, is crazy talented. The main points of freshman year are that: Denise can’t be anything but a classical pianist according to her dad, Malik’s mom doesn’t want him to be an artist and Jenny befriends Marco.

We blink over to sophomore year. Malik discovers that Denise can SING! He recruits her to work with him and Victor on some tracks. They debut them at the big “Cast Shows Off” Halloween party. Which has an evil carnival theme…I think? And guess what? They love it! Meanwhile, Joy gets drunk and lets Neil film her rap. He shows it to the class and she chalks it up to a life experience. Meanwhile, Malik is still angry and the teacher wants to know more.

The stories tend to pick up with junior and senior years. Jenny and Marco start dating. But then Jenny connects with a PA alum who has gone on to have a part in what I guess is a CW-like show. Marco and the viewer can see he’s flirting with Jenny, but she thinks he’s just offering her a chance to get into the industry. She goes to meet with the casting director but soon realizes the alum’s true intent. After leaving, she tells Marco the truth. He breaks it off with her. But they meet up again at an event and seem to be friends again.

Neil gets an offer from a company to help him make a film. He just has to raise the money needed. He asks his father, who finds this off. But Neil doesn’t listen to him and convinces his dad that it’s totally legit. He raises the money and gives it to the producer. When Neil goes to pick up the equipment the producer said he rented, the guy has no records of it. Neil flips out and goes to the producer…Who is no longer there. Neil then has to work to pay his dad back. Joy, meanwhile, gets a part time gig on “Sesame Street.” She’s excited as it grows more substantial. But her grades start failing. And that means she needs to make a decision—cut back on Sesame Street or leave school. She decides to leave school.

Denise, Victor and Malik nearly get signed to a record company. But it turns out they only want Denise. So they leave, though Denise is conflicted. She still hasn’t told her parents about her singing. Then her parents decide to show up to showcase she told them was for jazz piano. But Denise performs anyway. Her father is not pleased and threatens to pull her from the school. But her mother puts her foot down. She tells her husband that Denise was happy singing and she was good. She insists that Denise will stay in school, much to her husband’s dismay.

The teacher, Mr. Dowd, continues to get through to Malik. In an exercise, Malik explains how he lost his sister Ayanna to a car accident (I think). Mr. Dowd then pushes about how it made Malik feel but he’s not about to feel anything but anger. The teacher doesn’t give up, probably in his goal to get Malik to release the anger and give in to his other feelings. Malik resists. The teacher asks about his father, who we learned left before the sister’s death and didn’t even return for it. After that, we never hear much from Malik again. I get that high school does not always solve all our problems. But this storyline is just confusing.

The dancers don’t get much. Rosie is quickly forgotten. Alice is there to be talented as well as a bored rich girl who dates a poor boy to piss off her parents. She also leaves the school before graduation because of an offer to dance with a professional tour. Kevin is seen with others and gets to recreate one of the original’s most dramatic moments. He is told by Bebe Neuwirth that he is not good enough to join a company after graduation, much like Lisa. Upset, he goes down in the subway. As a train approaches, we see him approach the edge slowly. Everything slows down and a passing train blocks our view as Jenny calls out.

In the original, we learn that Lisa only threw her dance equipment onto the tracks and decides to switch to acting. In the remake, we see that Jenny, Joy and someone else have pulled Kevin back from committing suicide. While I am impressed they decided to tackle the scene, I’m not happy they changed the end. And only because the movie never addresses Kevin’s near suicide nor do we see why he would immediately resort to it. In the original, we see Lisa’s journey and her struggle. And since she didn’t commit suicide, there was no need for follow through.

This is getting too long to go through each plotline of the original movie. Because that was a character study. We went on a journey with these characters. We saw Doris emerge from a shy girl into a confident young woman and actress. Montgomery become more comfortable with himself, especially his sexual identity. Ralph’s journey to the the heights (and bottom) of fame. We see Coco get a dose of humility but still remain confident in her abilities while Bruno grows more understanding of music theory.

Like Malik, Leroy was the “angry” character. But his anger is better explored in the original film. He’s homeless and cannot read well. He clashes with the English teacher, Mrs. Sherman. She’s failing him because she doesn’t understand his struggle. This hurts his chance to get into a dance company. He confronts her when her husband in the hospital in another dramatic scene where he tells her he is good at dancing and he will be dancer.

Both movies try to touch on the same topics. The reality of failure is presented in both. In the original, it is presented when the students go out for pizza and recognize the waiter as a former student who had already graduated. They are surprised to see him there as he was quite talented. He tells them that it’s been difficult to find work but he believes his big break is just around the corner. The others agree but their mood is dampened by their possible futures. In the remake, the singing teacher takes them to a karaoke bar as a lesson about singing in public…I guess? Anyway, they convince her to sing and after ask her why she wasn’t performing. So she tells them that she tried but it didn’t happen for them so she became a teacher instead.

So which “Fame” is better? The original. However, it’s Rated R. So if you want something to entertain the kiddies, this isn’t too bad. If you want to avoid answering some questions like why the kid nearly threw himself in front of a train, stick to “High School Musical.” If you are older but still unable to watch Rated R films, I suggest finding the TV show. It’s edgier than the remake but still suitable for younger audiences as it aired on TV during the 80s.

Or just wait until you can watch the original.