Lauren SlivaThe emergence of musical films has enabled Broadway to extend its influence to ordinary households. It’s an outbreak that’s insurmountable.
The latest film in this epidemic is the 2009 remake “Fame,” directed by Kevin Tancharoen. It was released nationwide on Sept. 25.
Word of mouth is often a positive marketing tool for films that gain critical acclaim, but “Fame” failed to do that. It balanced a 28 percent approval rating at the popular movie review Web site RottenTomatoes.com.
The negative hype kept Alyssa Frieze, senior business administrative major, away from seeing the movie in the theater. Before transferring to Cabrini, Frieze was a dance major at La Roche College.
“After watching the trailer, the dancing looked exceptional but the acting looked choppy. The script didn’t look very good either,” Frieze said.
“Fame” follows students and their struggle to become famous as they attend the New York City High School for Performing Arts where they received training in their respective area of talent. It runs at 107 minutes.
“Fame” debuted at number three at the box office, grossing approximately $11.1 million but plummeted down to number seven with a total gross of $16.5 million, proving that even musicals aren’t a guaranteed box office hit.
However about 15 members of the Cabrini field hockey team still made their way to the theater to see “Fame.” The general consensus among the group believed that the film was decent but nothing exceptional.
“It didn’t really have a plot,” Allie Rodolico, junior communication major, said. “But I loved the music and songs.”
The original “Fame” was released in 1980 and led to the release of a television series and stage musical in addition to the 2009 film. Yet remaking a film nearly always involves taking out certain aspects of the original while inserting new additions.
One of the complaints reflected the omission of the song “Fame,” which was not included in the remake.Dr. Michelle Filling, assistant professor of English and president of the Alumni Dance Chapter of West Chester University has not seen the film but expressed her friends’ dismay.
“Some of my friends said ‘How can you have the movie ‘Fame’ and not have the song ‘Fame?’ That’s the iconic song of the musical,” Filling said.
Still, Filling plans on seeing the film, being an avid fan of the on-stage adaption.
“The musical is awesome, it has really high energy dancing,” Filling said.
Recently, the public has taken an interest in musicals and their on-screen adaptations. “High School Musical” was not only a hit but its soundtrack was also the biggest selling CD of 2006. The musical comedy “Glee” that started its season this fall on Fox has also proved to be a hit, drawing in an average of 9.6 million viewers.
“Fame” may contain more mature themes than “High School Musical,” but it still appeals to the same audience.
“I’m obsessed with ‘High School Musical,’ which was way better than ‘Fame,'” Rodolico said. ‘Fame’ was more of an actual movie with lines rather than singing to describe everything.”
Marietta Rizzon, a fan of musicals since childhood, and pursuing her master’s in education, has seen the modern re-invention of countless musicals.
“I think choreography today is more dynamic and elaborate than it used to be,” Rizzon said. Rizzon saw “Fame” when it was a musical on Broadway.
“Obviously I love musicals so yes I would like to see it [‘Fame’] because the clips on television are fascinating,” Rizzon said.
Despite the mediocre success of “Fame,” Dr. Filling believes that Broadway will continue to reinvent itself to reach a broader audience.
“It almost dates back to the 90s. ‘Rent’ appealed to a younger generation,” Filling said. “Broadway has become inventive in what they’re coming out with by also appealing to a younger generation.”
