There are two potential reasons the remake of 1980's Fame fails so spectacularly on the screen. The first would contend the audience is fed up with stories centering around kids learning all about an art form in a prestigious school. (See: Save the Last Dance, Save the Last Dance 2, Step Up, Step Up 2: The Streets, Center Stage, Center Stage: Turn It Up). More likely is the fact this screenplay, by Allison Burnett, is so riddled with holes, leaps in logic and a burning desire to cram four years worth of storylines into just 107 painful, lacking and excruciating minutes.
The problem with the script-and it is a doozy-is that there are so many characters (11 students, 5 teachers and other supporting players) covering so much time, it's impossible to organically create drama or a cohesive story. Let's not forget to mention the obligatory production numbers, ranging from all out dance routines to theater performances and instrument recitals. With so much going on, Burnett skips the connective tissue in order to focus on the "big" moments over four years. Why doesn't this work? Because it feels manufactured, fake and, ultimately, lazy. For example, breakout star Naturi Naughton butts heads with her father early in the film when she is asked to take part in a production of Chicago. Dad doesn't want her to play anything but classical music. Yet the next time the parents are brought into the picture is during year four following a very public-and exciting-hip hop performance. There's nothing in the middle, outside of a handful of scenes showing Denise at work. (To be completely fair, lip service is paid to Dad not being wild about the idea. The script doesn't give the audience anything else to work with.)
And that is the most maddening aspect of Fame: multiple plot lines which start and stop like a cab in New York City traffic without rhyme or reason. Each high school year is broken down into roughly half hour segments and, within those portions, each character gets a scene, maybe two, to advance their story. Think about the things which happen over the course of a year. Small incidental moments leading to grand, earth shattering events. Depression or love or jealousy don't happen overnight but they do here. Fame demands the audience connect the dots and essentially do the work of the script. If the film wanted to follow all these characters, then we need to see them over the course of one year, not four. And if it truly wanted to do the entire high school experience, then the cast needs to be cut. Even the most skilled of screenwriters can't juggle both.
To this point, I've mentioned one cast member by name for a good reason. With the exception of Naughton and Kherington Payne's Alice, none of the young actors are terribly compelling. And what makes these two ladies stand out isn't their acting ability, but their musical and dance performances, respectively. There is a transformation in Naughton through the film as she gains confidence in what she can do which is palpable through her singing. Indeed, it's the most obvious in her stunning bar debut as she turns from being self conscious to an assured performer. Alice doesn't have this arc since she is an extremely gifted dancer from the get go. Her coming out party is also late in the film, a sultry, seductive dance number featuring the actress crawling on the floor in a form fitting black costume.
No one else leaves any lasting impression, especially the four bona fide A-list names shunted to the side for no good reason. Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Neuwirth and Debbie Allen all have roles as teachers, adding a bit of star power to the production...if only the script didn't conveniently forget they exist. None of them have anything especially meaningful to do besides spout a handful of cliched and demoralizing lines to the students. Mullally is given a moment to shine in a singing performance which falls completely on its face due to music video style editing and terrible ADR. (The actress over performs the entire thing, too.) What good is it to have these actors on stage if the script refuses to do anything with them?
Among the teachers, there is a willingness to completely cut down any student they do not feel is performing as well as they should. Looking at their attitudes from any perspective, they come off as cold and harsh, unfeeling and lacking in any component which would make them good teachers. They can't help but show disdain for a performance throughout the film, going so far as to cover their face with a clipboard or half-heartedly smile. Fame comes off as a mean picture because of it. In the case of Dutton's theater teacher James Dowd, he uses the disappointment to get through to his kids. But when Neuwirth's dance instructor Ms. Kraft destroys a young man's dream, she doesn't stop to think of the long term repercussions. Certainly as she says, it is her job to be honest as a teacher. That honesty, however, has to be tempered with some sort of concern for her charges. Kraft's conversation with Kevin (Paul McGill) leads to a potentially disastrous situation...but then the movie doesn't care since no one has to deal with consequences on screen.
With its interchangeable cast of characters and porous storylines, you'd think someone would have had the good sense to include a big production number featuring "I'm Gonna Live Forever." Well, you'd be wrong. The one part of the original this film could have easily gotten right is squandered over the closing titles. This should have been the showstopper, the final performance we see from the kids. And it would have made sense within the context of the film, to boot. Instead, we're treated to an admittedly well-staged and visually arresting piece combining all the disciplines within PA...without the title song. Now what good is that?