| And as Allen in the role of dance instructor Lydia Grant admonished her students, she would utter what has become one of the most recognized lines in show business: "You've got big dreams? You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right now is where you start paying … in sweat." Allen returns in the remake - this time as the principal of the high school, which is again the place where young people hoping for stardom and international success hone their skills while dealing with the typical challenges of becoming adults.
But this new Fame is a far cry from the original even though it is essentially the same story, primarily because we are never allowed to connect to the "stars" of the tale - the students themselves. What challenged Coco, Leroy and their classmates in the original film - teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction, exploitation by adult sharks or embracing one's homosexuality, are no longer such controversial issues. Perhaps in this new millennium they are so common that they have become part of the panorama known as life.
There are still wonderful moments in this new version, especially the performances of Naturi Naughton who portrays
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Denise in place of Cara's Coco and does a credible job singing the 1981 Oscar-nominated song "Out Here on My Own," and the ultra-masculine Collins Pennie, who is the new age version of Leroy, this time as a rapper instead of a dancer. But we never feel the pain of these young hopeful stars. And so, the real drama never unfolds.
The instructors, including Charles S. Dutton and Kelsey Grammer are great choices and bring a sense of reality to their roles, but then this isn't supposed to be a story about teachers, is it? And even though scenes like the lunchroom jam session and the graduation finale survive the insertion of hip-hop and a more modern musical mix the movie fails to move this writer.
Fame will forever remain one of the greatest high school musicals, if not just movies, of the 20th century because it became "our" story - but as for this newer version - it may be best to just wait for the DVD or, heaven forbid, a bootleg copy because this time Fame flops.
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