More cheese, less grit, in new serving of 'Fame'

MOVIE REVIEW

The new "Fame" is so squeaky-clean, it almost has Vanessa Hudgens in it. The R-rated 1980 original, about a group of students at New York's High School of the Performing Arts, explored some adult territory (one character, for example, has an abortion; another struggles to accept his homosexuality). Here, the PG-rated teens chastely kiss, never swear, and wear cute argyle cardigans to indicate that they're serious. It's a bit of a culture shock — almost Hogwarts, minus the magic — particularly if you're old enough to remember the first movie.

Written by Allison Burnett, the new "Fame" borrows heavily from the original in its structure. We meet its 10 main characters on audition day — noticing that a few cast members seem a little long in the tooth to be playing would-be high-school freshmen — as they demonstrate their talents and receive the first of many faculty lectures about Hard Work. Four years of high school unfold, culminating in a gala graduation performance that mysteriously involves dusty tribal drums and weirdly sped-up ballet. Presumably the kids are now ready to launch themselves into performing-arts careers, though I hope those drummers have a backup plan.

Following 10 characters over a period of four years in under two hours means, by necessity, that the stories are at best perfunctory and at worst nearly nonexistent. (The original, half an hour longer, did a better job of this.) Early on, we see a kid getting some grief from dance teacher Ms. Kraft (Bebe Neuwirth, whose gravel voice is always a pleasure); four years later, she tells him that he's not good enough to be a dancer. So, what happened in between? Nothing? It's hard to care about the kid when we barely know who he is.

But, when director Kevin Tancharoen isn't cheesing things up by showing us the girls doing what's basically a pole dance (in class?), much of "Fame" draws us in, through the irresistible appeal of young people bursting with energy. The lovely Naturi Naughton, as a classical pianist who finds herself as a singer, is particularly terrific; she knocks us out with a soulful performance of "Out Here On My Own" (one of two songs from the original, along with the title tune) and even manages to sell her very tired uptight-parents story line. Anna Maria Perez de Tagle is a charmer as the ever-smiling Joy, who quite appropriately finds her way into a job on "Sesame Street," and Asher Book looks teen-idol ready as actor/crooner Marco.

Ultimately "Fame" has a fairly muddled message: Naughton belts out the closing song about holding on to your dreams and never letting them go, immediately after we've seen a scene in which a kid gave up on his dreams, fairly happily, and went home to Iowa. The movie, via the school's faculty, keeps reminding us (rather refreshingly) that dreams aren't enough and that hard work isn't enough — being a performing artist is something rare and special. (The confident presence of Neuwirth, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally and Debbie Allen, as their teachers, are an even more vivid reminder.) Several in this young cast are poised on the verge; let's see if we, ultimately, remember their names.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com