Fame (1980) [Blu-ray] [Import]

We follow eight of the accepted students through three years of their education. They grapple with discipline, praise, disappointment, growth, friendship, love, sex, competition, and initiation into the world of entertainment where there are more failures than successes. As in his two previous movies, director Parker demonstrates his gift for working with youth and drawing out their best performances, which greatly benefits the film.

Barry Miller is Ralph, a fast-talking Puerto Rican whose hero is Freddie Prinze and whose hip comic sense hides a painful personal life. Irene Cara plays Coco, an ambitious singer whose longing for fame leads her to the seamy side of showbiz. Gene Anthony Ray is a tough black ghetto youth who dances like a leopard and resists the disciplinary strictures of one of his teachers (Anne Meara). Maureen Teefy is very convincing as a Brooklyn girl who must free herself from a domineering mother in order to express her artistic sensibilities. Lee Curreri plays a synthesizer enthusiast whose single-minded genius is the source of pride for his taxicab-driving father. Also featured are Paul McCrane as a homosexual acting student, Antonia Fransceschi as a rich ballerina, and Laura Dean as a lackadaisical dance student.

Fame is an emotionally involving and exuberant movie. It contains many moments of cinematic poetry. For every clichéd portrait of teenage anxiety there is a matching character revelation of depth. But in the end, it all seems unsatisfying and that's a shame. With all these great qualities going for it, I try not to think about what could have been. It's definitely a motion picture experience worth taking, but it should have been a lot more satisfying!!!!