In 1980 Alan Parker directed a wonderful film called “Fame”. It followed students at the New York High School of Performing Arts and was such a success it spilt over into not only a West End musical but also a TV series which ran from 1982-1987 and which many from my generation still remember fondly. Who could forget Leroy, Danny, Jesse, Chris and Coco as they learned to dance, sing, act and be musicians. I loved that show and it is still the reference point for most of us when we think of the 80′s. Irene Cara’s title track is on my iPOD and there it will stay.

So it was with a mixture of nerves and well, nerves, that I went along to see Kevin Tancharoen’s new incarnation of this little classic. The 2009 version boasts a cast which includes the wonderful Bebe Neuwirth and the talented Charles S. Dutton not to mention the films saving grace, Megan Mullally, who will always be close to our gay hearts. OK, so far so good! However, I’m sorry to report that that’s where the good stuff ends. The rest of the cast, the students, are not as talented as those who play their teachers, I can only hope that they learned more from them off camera than their characters did in the film.

The film opens with the auditions, all the way through of course you are saying to yourself “well that one won’t get in, talk about ham acting” and then you realise it’s not the character who can’t act, it’s the actor playing him/her. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a cast like it, the elder statesmen and women must have wondered what was going on as they tried to put a little emotion into the piece whilst surrounded by a group of young people who were simply out of their depth.

To be fair, they weren’t helped by a script that was lacking in everything. There was no character development of any note, no meaningful relationships of any kind and not even a decent dance to tap your foot to. As the “story” progressed you became less and less interested in what was going to happen to the characters and as they came face to face with serious issues you found yourself wondering why you can’t take your time eating your pick-o-mix cause now it’s gone and you’re bored.

Over all I’d say this is a film to be missed. If you like the idea behind it then watch the original, this one adds nothing to it and will just put you in bad form.

You can watch the trailer here if you don’t believe me;

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