And We’ll All Be Stars
I recently saw the remake of the movie musical Fame. I hadn’t seen the original 1980 version for years but remember loving the dramatic angst and over-the-top musical numbers. I wasn’t expecting anything life changing in the remake, but I figured it would be a fun night at the movies– how can you do wrong with singing and dancing teenagers?
With the exception of Naturi Naughton’s performance of “Out Here On My Own” and a brief dance number featuring Kherington Payne (who is apparently on Dancing With The Stars) the whole movie fell flat. Unsurprisingly, the movie received only 29% on Rotten Tomatoes.
It occurred to me that it would be a whole lot more interesting to see a documentary about LaGuardia High School, the real-life NYC Public High School for the Performing Arts, on which the school in Fame is based. I’m betting actual New York City students would be infinitely more interesting to watch on film that the one-dimensional creations in Fame.
Take for example the documentary Frontrunners, which chronicles the student body president election at the prestigious Stuyvesant High School, or Mad Hot Ballroom, about a ballroom dancing arts education program in NYC public elementary schools. Check out the trailers here, and put them on the list for your next movie night.
