Fame (2009)
Director - Kevin Tancharoen
Starring - Kay Panabaker, Asher Brook & Naturi Naughton
4.5 stars
This could very well be MJ's surprise packet of '09. Having not seen the 1980 original I was blessed with no preconceived ideas of what to expect. Also, having seen more than one rating below par for this musical remake I was never expecting a cinematic masterpiece. But I had free tickets and I'm never one to miss an opportunity to catch a movie.
What I saw was by no means a cinematic masterpiece but instead a fun-filled rollercoaster ride of emotions that had me captivated for every one of the 107 minutes of screen time. 'Fame' is a lot more than just a musical about college students who break into corny songs at the most inappropriate yet predictable times. It's a genuine drama about adolescents dealing with the transition into adulthood and the desire to follow what may seem like the impossible dream.
The characters are all brilliantly cast and all have superb on-screen chemistry. A real sense of friendship is conveyed between the lot of them and they are all believable in their roles.
There are numerous scenes with incredibly touching ballads that tug at the heart and soul and they are combined delectably with a carnival-like atmosphere of up-beat tracks complemented by some toe tapping dancing extraordinaire! The dance scene in the lunchroom is one of the more memorable ones that would have been a heap of fun to film and that really came across on-screen. Sensational!
All in all, 'Fame' is not just your everyday musical/drama film. It's not even a genuinely enjoyable story. For me, it's a lot more than that. I will always think of 'Fame' as a journey. A journey of hope and failure and of joy and pain. A journey of mateship and fitting in and of unity and togetherness. A journey of doing what you love and striving to be the best you can be. A journey of love and hurt and of being there for one another. But most of all it's a journey about finding who you are, and the road you take when your getting there. It highlights the importance of friendship and unity as well as illustrating how everyone has a part to play in each other’s lives. The songs and dancing just make this ride all the more enjoyable and appeal to a whole different set of emotions.
Off the cuff this could possibly be the best film I've seen this year to date. I loved every second of it and if my life regret before this was the fact that I couldn't go to East High with Troy Bolton and the HSM kids, it's now that my college years weren't spent tap-dancing on lunch tables and busting out ballads on the piano in the auditorium with the Fame crew.
A truly enjoyable experience and an emotionally gripping ride - right until the end. Not bad for a free ticket, ay?
No comments:
Post a Comment