It took the title track by Irene Cara to reach the top spot in the UK, thanks in no part to the TV series that Alan Parker’s 1980 film FAME spawned, making many a Thursday night fix for many of the aspiring wannabes at that time, including Victoria Beckham, who admitted in her biography she saw the film at a young age (though whether that was true remains a mystery, considering the film was only available to those who were fourteen years and upwards, whilst Posh was a mere child when the original film came out)
Big dreams and fame costs, as Debbie Allen said famously in the TV series, but she makes her appearance in the film as well, auditioning the hundreds wanting those key places at New York’s High School For The Performing Arts.
Among them are Coco (Cara), Bruno (Lee Curreri), Ralph (Barry Miller, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER), Doris (Maureen Teefy, the 1984 version of SUPERGIRL as Lois Lane’s younger sister Lucy), Montgomery (Paul McCrane, ROBOCOP (1987), Leroy (Gene Anthony Ray) and Lisa (Laura Dean), who are accepted into the curriculum and begin to find their way. However, the cost of seeking that golden opportunity in the performing arts begins to conflict and take its’ toll on all of their ambitions and dreams….
Far grittier than the family-friendly TV series (which was essential viewing in the UK on BBC1 after TOP OF THE POPS back in the early 1980s), thanks in part to Parker’s assured direction, FAME leaps out of the screen with a pulsating soundtrack alongside the title track and a street scene to the instrumental of the same.
Stand-out moments include HOT LUNCH JAM as a manic canteen jam erupts with Bruno and Coco leading the line, Doris and Ralph attending an audience-participation screening of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and the climactic performance.
Still as addictive as ever – and a cautionary tale for those wishing to pursue their creative dreams….