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Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "FAME" (2009) (Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Mild Heavy Mild Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy Mild None Mild Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Heavy Heavy Mild QUICK TAKE: Musical Drama: Students attending a New York high school for the performing arts deal with growing up while honing their singing, dancing and acting talents. PLOT: In 2009, we are re-introduced to the New York high school for the performing arts where young actors, dancers, singers and musicians learn and hone their craft under the tutelage of such teachers as Mr. Cranston (KELSEY GRAMMER), Mr. Dowd (CHARLES S. DUTTON) and Principal Simms (DEBBIE ALLEN, the only returning cast member from the original 1980 film). Over a span of four years, we come to know a host of young aspiring artists as they struggle to break out of their shells and be the best performers they can be. Denise (NOTURI NAUGHTON) is a classical pianist who yearns to be a hip-hop singer. Malik (COLLINS PENNIE) is a tough, African-American kid from the streets who wants to study acting to become a better rapper. Victor (WALTER PEREZ) is a talented keyboardist who thinks he has what it takes to be a music producer. Jenny (KAY PANABAKER) is a shy actress wannabe who has yet to lose her inhibitions. By contrast, Marco (ASHER BOOK) is a natural performer whose singing and acting have always come naturally. He and Jenny strike up a romantic relationship that is complicated by her attraction to Andy (CODY LONGO), a successful alum who is a regular on a TV show that films in Manhattan. Finally, Neil (PAUL IACONA) is an aspiring filmmaker who gets bilked out of $5,000 when he thinks his short film will receive distribution. Joy (ANNA MARIA PEREZ DE TAGLE) studies theater and must ultimately choose between a cushy gig on "Sesame Street" or staying in school. Kevin (PAUL McGILL) is an aspiring dancer from Iowa eager to make it in New York. And Alice (KHARINGTON PAYNE) is a dance prodigy who strikes up a relationship with Victor. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Yes, especially if they are fans of the "High School Musical" or "Glee" franchises. This is the PG version of the R-rated original from 1980. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For thematic material including teen drinking, a sexual situation and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: NOTURI NAUGHTON plays a classical pianist student who really dreams of being a hip-hop singer. She hides her talents from her father and mother, who want her to remain focused on the piano. KAY PANABAKER plays a shy actress who has troubles shedding her inhibitions on stage and in class. She becomes romantically involved with Marco, but considers using her sexuality to get a role on a TV show starring a famous alum of the school. COLLINS PENNIE plays an angry young black kid whose father left him when he was very young and who is still grieving the loss of his sister, who was killed in a drive-by shooting. He hides his enrollment in the performing arts school from his mother, who thinks he can do better things with his life than become a rapper. CODY LONGO plays an alum of the school who now stars on a network TV show filming in Manhattan. He is a drinker and tries to use his celebrity to coerce Jenny into having sex with him in his trailer in return for a role on the show. PAUL McGILL plays an aspiring dancer from Iowa who wants to make it in the big city, but clearly lacks the talent. He briefly considers suicide when a teacher tells him he doesn't have what it takes. ANNA MARIA PEREZ DE TAGLE plays a theatre student who gets a job on "Sesame Street" and must ultimately decide whether to stay in school or continue with the show. She is a social drinker who is filmed inebriated after one party. WALTER PEREZ plays a music student who dreams of making it big as a music-industry producer. KHARINGTON PAYNE plays a dance prodigy who becomes romantically involved with Victor. PAUL IACONO plays an aspiring filmmaker whose naively gives a con artist $5,000 thinking his short film will receive distribution. CHARLES S. DUTTON plays a drama teacher who clashes with Malik. KELSEY GRAMMER plays a piano teacher who seems sad throughout the film, but we never learn why. BEBE NEUWIRTH plays a dance teacher who has the unenviable task of having to tell Kevin he doesn't have the talent to make it as a professional dancer. MEGAN MULLALY plays a singing teacher who may have given up on her dreams of the stage too early. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). Check out our review of the original "Fame" from 1980. OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this musical drama that has been rated PG. Profanity consists of at least 5 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Throughout the film, there are numerous dance sequences in which dancers perform highly sexual moves that entail grinding, leg spreads, women riding on the backs of men and so forth, while there is a scene where a young girl is lured to the trailer of a famous actor and alumni of her school where he tries to take advantage of her sexually. Some bad attitudes are present throughout, as is some potentially imitative behavior and various thematic elements. Drinking is present, including public intoxication, while various scenes involve tense family material. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, all sorts of camera movement occurs throughout the film, coupled with bright flashy stage lights and rapid-fire editing. A costume party has a modest strobe-light effect. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Joy gets very drunk at a Halloween party and performs a drunken rap atop a park bench that climaxes with her falling down and then vomiting. A school costume party features kids drinking from cups, but it is not specified what is in the cups. No one acts or behaves in a drunken matter at the party. Alcohol is served at a party thrown by Andy, a famous alum of the school. His buddies and associates cajole him into doing shots in a separate room. Andy drinks a beer and offers Jenny one in his trailer. He also has the sniffles in the scene, which could mean he had also been snorting cocaine. But there is no definitive visual proof that such drug use happened. BLOOD/GORE A dancer spits on the floor twice during auditions and rubs his shoe soles on the saliva. Joy vomits in a public park after drinking too much. Fran comically fakes like she's going to vomit, complete with heaving sound effect, before going up to sing karaoke. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Alice texts while the school's principal is giving a speech. Another character is shown eating. In class, one dancer interrupts Kevin's routine and doesn't give him a chance to finish his performance. Malik is openly hostile to his acting teacher, Mr. Dowd, throughout the film and even storms out of his class at one point. During a rap performance in the lunch room, one student says to another student: "You're retarded. Your brain is not working right." Andy lures Jenny to his trailer, offers her beer, and lies to her about filming a screen test. Instead, he tries to have sex with her on camera under the auspices of reading a scene. She considers using her sexuality to get a role on his TV show, but then rejects him. A con artist bilks aspiring filmmaker Neil and his father out of $5,000 and then skips town. FRIGHTENING SCENES Kevin walks to the edge of a subway platform, contemplating suicide, and a train comes screaming by almost hitting him. GUNS/WEAPONS During an acting-class monologue, Malik reveals that his sister was murdered in a drive-by shooting. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "This is bullsh*t and you know it," "Bitch," "I thought my mama would whoop my ass," "Screw this," "You know I'm gonna eat you up in front of everybody," "You're retarded. Your brain is not working right." "Pissing the night away" and "Dummy." A dancer spits on the floor twice during auditions and rubs his shoe soles on the saliva. Malik has a large tattoo on his arm to remember his murdered sister. During lunch, an impromptu song-and-dance routine breaks out among dozens of students, and several kids are seen dancing on tables and knocking plates of food to the floor. Joy gets very drunk at a Halloween party and performs a drunken rap atop a park bench that climaxes with her falling down and then vomiting. Fran comically fakes like she's going to vomit, complete with heaving sound effect, before going up to sing karaoke. JUMP SCENES Kevin walks to the edge of a subway platform, contemplating suicide, and a train comes screaming by almost hitting him. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) Joy performs a drunken rap in which she references "bitches" and "ho's." At a karaoke performance, one singer belts out "I Get Knocked Down" by Chumbawamba and includes the line "Pissing the night away" twice. There are a couple of rap performances in the film that are mostly clean, although Malik raps about his sister's sad death by gunshot wounds. PROFANITY At least 5 "s" words, 3 asses (1 used with "hole"), 1 damn and 1 use of "G-damn." SEX/NUDITY Jenny invites Marco back to her home with her parents away, and the implication is they will be intimate on some level. Andy lures Jenny to his trailer, offers her beer, and lies to her about filming a screen test. Instead, he tries to have sex with her on camera under the auspices of reading a scene. She considers using her sexuality to get a role on his show, but then rejects him. Throughout the film, there are numerous dance sequences in which dancers perform highly sexual moves that entail grinding, leg spreads, women riding on the backs of men and so forth. SMOKING Marco holds an unlit cigarette at a costume party. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Malik sneaks out of his apartment to audition for the performing-arts school, as his mother calls out to him. Malik doesn't tell his mother that he was accepted into the school. She eventually finds out and orders him to quit and focus on a future with more stability, asking him, "Who in the world told you that you were someone special?!" Without explanation, Malik does not drop out, and there are no additional scenes with the mom character for the rest of the movie. During an acting-class monologue, Malik reveals that his sister was murdered in a drive-by shooting. Malik further reveals that his father left the family at an early age, and he didn't even come back for Malik's sister's funeral. Denise quarrels with her father over wanting to do more than just play classical music. He forbids her to do anything else artistically, even though she is happy and quite good at singing. Neil borrows $5,000 from his father, but ends up losing the money in a scam. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The pressures of pursuing a career in the performing arts. The reality for many that just because one loves to sing or dance or act doesn't mean they are good enough to do it professionally. Inner-city violence and how it often harms the innocent. Absentee parents. Parents placing unreasonable expectations on gifted sons and daughters. Jenny considers using her sexuality to get a role on a TV show (she ends up not doing that). Contemplating suicide. VIOLENCE During an acting-class monologue, Malik reveals that his sister was murdered in a drive-by shooting. Reviewed Sept. 23, 2009 / Posted Sept. 25, 2009

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