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Fame

Play trailer 2:36 Poster for Fame R 1980 2h 14m Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
81% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Young men and women audition for coveted spots at the New York High School of Performing Arts. Those who make the cut discover that it takes a lot of hard work to become a star and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. The youngsters grapple with heavy issues such as homosexuality, abortion, attempted suicide and illiteracy. On top of their unique struggles, the students must deal with the mundane pressures of adolescence like homework, heartbreak and rejection.
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Fame

Fame

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Critics Consensus

Just because Fame is a well-acted musical doesn't mean it flinches against its surprisingly heavy topics.

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Critics Reviews

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Yardena Arar Associated Press 07/17/2019
Numerous performance scenes are expertly woven into Christopher Gore's screenplay following the audition-to-graduation fortunes of a handful of students, and the result is a joyful celebration of youth, hope and talent. Go to Full Review
Bruce McCabe Boston Globe 04/28/2018
Fame isn't only the best musical of the summer, it's one of the best films of any genre -- a fresh and funky, sassy and brassy, gutty and gritty, slick and smart piece of work. Go to Full Review
Anna Smith Empire Magazine 09/08/2010
3/5
The song and dance scenes are hard to beat in terms of sheer energy and atmosphere, but the dramatic storylines leave several loose ends. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 07/20/2024
7/10
A lively, momentous demonstration of craft. Go to Full Review
James Berardinelli ReelViews 05/31/2024
3/4
Cliched dramatic stories aside, the movie has a gritty charm and overall likeability that makes it worth revisiting for an understanding of how both the genre and society’s perceptions have evolved... Go to Full Review
Zita Short InSession Film 02/07/2023
C-
This is an unbalanced mess at a lot of points and that stops you from fully enjoying its occasional moments of greatness. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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thiago S @Thiagostone 3d Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Eye C @ECinc May 18 I supose that this could concider as a slow burn, but in the end nothing really happend, it just ends. Knowing that this is just anecdotic I guess it was better than the first time not knowing, even so it's slow and too long for what it tells. It's a no for me. See more Maarit L @Komedienne Jan 12 I love this movie Oh so very much. See more Frederick B @Frederick212 Dec 14 I hadn't seen this since I was a kid. I loved it even more from an adult perspective. I honestly don't get any negative reviews. I thought it was great. The only negative was that the actor that played Leroy was flaming pretty hard so it was very tough to believe the character was straight. They probably should have gone with a different actor. It seemed weird. I think the character was supposed to be a rough street kid but he acted more feminine than the character that was supposed to be gay. See more Adam S @spec72 03/29/2025 This over-ambitious film is more like an extended trailer for the forthcoming television series (which I admittedly haven't watched, yet). I tries to cram so much material that it doesn't give characters a natural opportunity to develop or bring storylines to actual resolutions. The music, choreography, and acting are all good, but I found the end result less than satisfying. See more Caleb D @RT30781610 10/21/2024 A very realist and disarmingly relatable movie, in spite of a few cringe moments. See more Read all reviews
Fame

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Movie Info

Synopsis Young men and women audition for coveted spots at the New York High School of Performing Arts. Those who make the cut discover that it takes a lot of hard work to become a star and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. The youngsters grapple with heavy issues such as homosexuality, abortion, attempted suicide and illiteracy. On top of their unique struggles, the students must deal with the mundane pressures of adolescence like homework, heartbreak and rejection.
Director
Alan Parker
Producer
David De Silva, Alan Marshall
Screenwriter
Christopher Gore
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating
R
Genre
Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 16, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2008
Runtime
2h 14m
Sound Mix
Surround