Yesterday, I hopped to my local movie theater, purchased a ticket for the Fame reboot, and began preparing myself for the exciting performances that would soon appear on-screen. After all, these musical numbers would come courtesy of an awesomely talented, young, breakout cast, right? Well…kinda. Though the cast might have been hindered by their own material — the film paled in comparison to the gritty 1980 version, thanks to a clear effort to make the film more accessible to the High School Musical set — I left the theater only remembering two names: Naturi Naughton and Collins Pennie.
Irene Cara was the breakout of 1980’s Fame. So it’s only fitting that Naughton, the actress reprising Coco Hernandez’s musical numbers, would be the obvious standout of the 2009 version. As Denise Dupree, Naughton blew me over on numbers like “Out Here On My Own,” and made the rest of the cast look like amateurs (though, admittedly, as performing arts students, that was what they were supposed to be). Except, of course, for Collins Pennie, the actor who played the tortured Malik Washburn with such intensity, I wondered why he doesn’t have a more expansive resume.
Because, honestly, when it came down to it, Denise and Malik were the only two characters in the film with clear talent. Yes, Asher Book’s Marco had a nice voice, but his lovesick dorkiness throughout the film distracted from his vocal gifts. (And surely, the best singer at a performing arts school would at least come close to comparing to the Adam Lamberts of the world, right?) SYTYCD’s Kherington Payne, as Alice, wasn’t nearly as technically proficient as other ballet dancers featured in the film. And as for Kay Panabaker’s Jenny…well, does anyone understand why the wannabe actress who could neither sing nor act was accepted into the school in the first place?
Am I being too hard on the cast? And do you, like me, think Naughton and Pennie were sublime in their roles? (That is, if you even saw the film — from preliminary box office figures, it looks like many of you skipped.) Let’s make these two bona fide stars, yeah?
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They lost me with the ‘no gay characters’
I haven’t seen the movie, so I’m not debating your take on it. However, I will point out that not every actor/actress is also a singer and dancer. And as far as I know, you can be accepted to the acting track at most performing high schools without those skills, though you’ll almost certainly wind up taking classes in them.
My problem with this movie (and I haven’t seen it yet) is that – unlike the world when the first movie came out – you don’t actually need to go to a performing arts high school to become famous. It’s just not relevant anymore. Society has, unfortunately, made it obsolete (as far as gaining fame is concerned). Talent on the other hand is something different. Also when the original Fame came out there hadn’t been a movie like it before. Now they are a dime a dozen.
The movie sucks. It was just a pilot for the TV series to return. Think about it, all the teachers were TV actors, the students were all unknown. It was geared to the high school musical crowd. It is all a ploy to cash in on that crowd with a new TV series. Too bad they had to blemish the name of the original Fame to accomplish this. As usual shame on you the movie/tv industry for using us as puppets yet again.
The moive was all right but I liked the orginal fame. I wish this one could have been as gritty as the original. But I did love Naturi Naughton I thought Collins Pennie was all right but he didn’t do it for me. I liked Asher Book but your right he was kind of a Love sick puppy.
I’m guessing the abortion scene didn’t make it?
The movie was ok…not impressed with much of the talent. Naturi was definately the standout and Asher Book was very cute – however not deep enough. The original Fame had many more indepth story lines for each character and this one seemed very shallow, missing plot, and I totally agree – how did Penny EVEN get into PA – she suxs!
She was very good. But, he sucked! His character was such a stereotype, and he played that to the extreme. That was some hardcore over-acting. I couldn’t stand him.
The whole movie was just cliche after cliche. Not at all gritty, raw, and realistic like the original. The talking scenes were too short. In the original, there were very long scenes of the kids just sitting and talking, and that was what made it great. It was real, and we really got to know the characters. In this new one, they dumbed it down to appeal to a wider audience, so they cut all al those long talking scenes. And when they did talk, it was just cliches.
The only character I got attached to was Jenny. She wasn’t the one with the standout talent, but she was the more developed. And I really like the Panabaker sisters. They’re extremely smart, and very good actresses.
Judging from the soundtrack, Naughton’s talents are insufficient to handle the Irene cara songs she tries (by a mile), and Penne’s rap is dead lame. Seriously – dull, uninspired, and lacking any real spark. I might be better on film, but I doubt the image will improve the tepid music. Now, a far better question is why Asher Booke isn’t a household name, since he *kills* his songs – the only decent ones on the otherwise lame soundtrack.
Don’t worry about Naughton, she’s got an agent and we’ll see her again.
I came away with a similar impression. The film was okay, though not great, but what really made an impression was Naturi Naughton. I hope this is the beginning of a long career for her, as it should be. Collins Penne didn’t do it for me though. I liked Asher Brook but agree that while he had a good voice, surely the best singer in a school for performing arts should be better than that. He should be Broadway good, and instead was only recording artist good. I liked Penny a lot for the first half of the film but after awhile I started thinking surely no one is THAT naive! All in all it was good entertainment for a night but not something I’m going to want to watch again.
If she has a good agent, she’ll be heard again. I don’t think she has a “pop” voice, but more along Broadway and classical singing.
I think Naughton’s 3LW drama put a hinder on her career. While her other group members went on to be Cheetah Girl members and date Khardashians…she was still stuggling to get a piece of the spot light. But as you can see talent is more than Disney backing your career or who you date. Naughton has grown into her own. It may have taken time and a much to be desired impersonation of Lil Kim, but the girl is talented and we will be hearing and seeing more from her.
I thought Naturi Naughton was the best thing in January’s “Notorious” film, where she was wonderful as Lil’ Kim. And to see her again this weekend in “Fame”, I’d say she’s done great since her days of the early 2000s R&B trio 3LW (for which the two girls kicked her out for trying to negotiate her contract). Her rendition of “Out Here On My Own” was electrifing to see in the theater!
Oh yeah, to “Will”, I thought the character of Kevin Barrett (played by Paul McGill) was assumed to be gay?
The only thing more odious than this soulless movie is when people use the term “reboot” instead of “remake.” WTF, EW? Knock it off, Kate.
I thought the movie was as mediocre as they come, and that’s one of the worst things I can say about a film, and that it neither enough performances to be entertaining or enough charcater development to be compelling.
I completely agree that Naturi and Collins were by far the best talent there.
(And I also agree that Panabaker’s character would never have been accepted or graduated without the same speech the ballet dancer received before graduation.)
Why do they bother to try and remake beloved movies…these young actors are set up to fail. Irene Cara’s voice and talent can’t be duplicated. Awful, painful and embarrassing!
Exclusive! Is Hollywood just a big business?! OMG some people just didn’t know.
Naturi was already a star, sort of she was the third member of 3LW, now called the Cheetah Girls, minus of course, Naturi
I would definitely have to agree with your opinions. Naughton and Pennie were definitely amazing. I really can’t diss Kay Panabaker because I know she can act she just wasn’t able to tap into a role that had so many main characters. As for Asher Book being dubbed the best singer at PA seemed to be a bit premature especially with Naughton’s amazing rendition of “Out Here On My Own” only minutes further into the film. And also with that unnamed character singing in cafeteria who reminded me of recording artist JoJo. All in all, the entire film seemed to be rushed and I wasn’t able to emotionally attach myself to any of the storylines, not even Kevin Barrett who was suicidal. That was the most intense part of the movie. Someone give Naughton and Pennie another role while I pop in the original “Fame” Thank You!
I haven’t seen the new “Fame”, but I remember having the exact “this kid is going to be a BIG star reaction” to Elijah Kelley after I saw the new “Hairspray.” Actually, I remember feeling that way right after his “Run Tell Dat” number finished.
What a shame. Shows what I know. (And it probably doesn’t bode well for these “Fame” kids, especially seeing as how “Hairspray” was actually a big hit.)
I thought the same thing about Elijah Kelley. I have yet to see him in something although he is suppose to have an album out. I’m just glad Naughton is getting all these roles and is on her way to becoming a star. After what those two silly little girls did to her from her old group, she deserves the spotlight.
The movie had such a good vibe in the early stages before we actually started to shoot it. In fact, it had such good energy going on, that it was a pity it ended up being cut-up/chop-chopped and ’sanitized’. There were a lot of scenes that unfortunately did not make the final cut. These scenes showed stories about true friendship, love, passion, relationships, sexuality, disappointments and successes in detail thru character development. Though the locked version was ‘tamed down’ because of the PG rating, a DVD directors cut would probably show the actual stories of the 10 different characters.
It seemed that Mr. Tancharoen forgot (maybe intentionally?) that he had 10 characters to develop. It appeared that there was concentration on one, Ms. Panabaker (and how could her character pass such a rigid audition?), Mr. Book, Mr. Pennie, Ms. Naughton (who sang very well) and Ms. Payne. Whatever happened to Mr. Iacono, Mr. McGill, Ms. Perez de Tagle, Ms. Flores (what character did she portray?) and Mr. Perez? What are their life stories or experiences?
Being part of the crew, I witnessed a number of scenes where Joy (Anna Maria), Kevin (Paul McG, who plays a gay dancer…did you notice?) and Neil (Paul I, the obsessed film maker) developed and established their friendship. There was a dramatic/touching scene where Joy and Kevin made the whole crew shed tears and I thought that would have been a clincher in the film. But sad to say, it ended up in the editors bin. Ms. Perez de Tagle should have been given more substantial scenes. She really is a “Joy” to watch. If I may add, Mr. McGill as handsome as he is, should have been given the same opportunity. In my opinion, these three characters would have been able to show the true color of FAME.
Needless to say, Mr. Tancharoen should have captured the true essence of the “New York PA youth” by utilizing and developing all of his characters evenly. In my opinion, he could have done that, if he had chosen to do so. However, it seems that Mr. Tancharoen concentrated on just one character’s development……….Jenny (Ms. Panabaker)….whom he had ‘captured’ and “captivated” way before the filming was over. Sad, utterly sad, but true.
Give it a chance, view it in it’s entirety. Maybe a PG-13 rating would have made the FAME re-invention……….’live forever’
Thank you.
KW, Beverly Hills, CA
It’s interesting to hear that so many stories were shot that didn’t appear in the final cut because it felt like no one experienced what students at a performing arts high school, let alone a regular high school experience. It’s nice there was 1 gay character, but NO ONE struggled with their sexuality. No one got pregnant, let alone had sex. No one did drugs (except for 1 person getting drunk, once). And 3 people left…because they got jobs! I also felt that when Marco showed Jenny how to mean what you’re singing with Someone to Watch Over Me,he didn’t act it any better than she had. However, when Naturi Naughton sang Out Here on my Own, that was a master class in knowing what you are singing about.
KW, thank you for your insight! It sounds like this could have been a fabulous movie, had they left more of the film, well, IN the film. I was attending the Manhattan School of Music in NYC back when the original was shot (musicians from MHS were used in the original movie), and I remember how electrifying that movie was when it came out – and how realistic it was! I’m hoping there will be a director’s cut of this 2009 version, which will show more of what this film could have really been. thanks again, KW. Jane
Naturi Naughton is going to be a huge star. She’s got all kinds of talent – already has had great success in movies, the live stage and the recording studio. Here’s something: Naturi and Irene Cara are both at a site called Great Friends Greetings (www.greatfriendsgreetings.com) – a very cool little personalized gift item.
Hi, I agree that the movie wasn’t as great as the original. I saw it two nights ago and I sat there waiting for it to explode on me and it never did. The talent was good, but the plot/story line wasnever properly developed. It never got deep and there were a lot of untied ends. I neve runderstood the Jenny character. HOw did she get in that school in the first place over so many other thousands who would have been talented that tried out as well. Asher Book was adorable, but again, his story line with Panabaker was sorely lacking. Naturi however, was excellent.
I’d never heard of any of the cast before seeing Fame, and so my judgments of them are based on this movie. The actress who played Jenny was horrible! (spoiler) When she breaks up with her boyfriend, she just did this weird ‘huff’ thing, and that was it. And someone her age should not look like their face is botoxed – she had no expressions what-so-ever. I was hoping that at the end they would show her “acting” in a scene where you saw how good she was and why they were right to let her into the school – but this never came. Denise was the only character I cared about, and it felt like the production team did too – the other characters jsut weren’t given enough space to develop and most had no personality at all (my friend kept getting Marco/Victor/Neil mixed up as the same character – just had to look their names up on imdb).
Sorry, didn’t mean to get ranty, but I totally agree with the main post!