"You have [no] talent. Now let's see what we can do with it."

*this picture does not depict any characters from Fame because they can't actually dance*

Fame: A well-known show on Broadway that is still discussed today. Made into a film in 1980, Fame is now out on DVD again as an attempt to recreate an already great movie. Was the second attempt better than the first? Not even close.

For those who have never heard of the Broadway show, the 1980 film, or the 2009 film, Fame is about students at the New York Academy of the Performing Arts and their journeys in becoming actors, singers, and dancers. The school's limited acceptance number causes stress among the characters, as well as their future career path. While the 1980 film creates a good representation of this story, the 2009 film falls short.

The film begins with Jenny Garrison, played by Kay Panabaker, an uptight actress/singer who can't seem to do anything right. Then, without learning a lot about Jenny, we move on to Alice Ellerton, played by Kherington Payne, an emotionless, talentless yet still appealing (?) dancer who is considered competition. And, without even hearing her speak, we meet Denise Dupree, played by Naturi Naughton, who is the only talented singer thus far. Thankfully, we get to actually learn about her and her predestined life as a pianist. But, she finds out she has a larger range than Jennifer Hudson. Surprising? Not really.

We also meet some other uninteresting characters who aren't talented, but mentioning all fifty or so would take too long.

So the story continues with Jenny, the uptight bad singer, and her problems with her uptightedness. She fails in all of her acting classes but it still supported by her soon-to-be boyfriend (raise your hand if you saw that coming). Spoiler alert: they break up but get back together at the end of the movie. (Hand still raised?)

Then we see Alice again and she, without saying anything or dancing impressively, woos a future DJ mixer student. But she breaks his heart anyway, with the actual use of words. Surprised this time? Yes.

Finally, it's the end of the movie. How do I know? All the characters have come out on stage and begun showing off their talents. Remind you of any other school-of-talented-students-who-struggle-with-their-lives-but-find-their-true-selves-through-music movies? This scene is random, but also expected (shoulders hurting?). And the film ends with everyone dancing and singing at their... graduation? I'm not sure, but I was glad the film ended.

For Fame, Allyson gives the rating: