Just remember "random" is in the name of the blog. Fame was a favorite of mine when it came out in 1980. I believe I first saw it on HBO at a friend's house. I know the music appealed to me, especially the title track. But I liked the movie. It was gritty and adult themed. Definitely not anything that I could relate to personally, but I liked it. The soundtrack had a few catchy tunes but they aren't all hits. I I memorized Fame the song and was also a fan of Dogs in the Yard. The movie did well at the theater grossing five times its budget of $8M. I don't think it's a cult classic. I never here it come up. You'll recognize a few stars including Irene Cara and Paul McCrane but few others that I really remember. Debbie Allen is in the movie for a blink of the eyes but makes her mark in the series. There are some good performances here which help the story tremendously but not all the characters are wins to me. I won't try to analyze the movie but I'm putting something here as I've recently finished watching the movie and first two seasons of the series.
Speaking of the Fame television series, only two seasons ever made it to DVD. Unsure why but I assume it's due to a lack of folks buying the first two. The TV series is definitely not as gritty as the movie but does try to take on issues found within society at the time. The series is okay but didn't age well. The characters, whether played by returning actors or new actors, were good but it just wasn't the same as the movie.
I'm not telling folks to go out and watch either the movie or series but Fame was something to me. Not a top 10 movie for me by any means but here I am writing about it. I'm curious if anyone else watched this back in the day.
As a kid, I watched and enjoyed the tv show when it came out. I don't remember when I first saw the movie but I was surprised at how different it was from the tv show. I didn't mind it, but it was more adult than I was expecting. (Sort of like when I first saw the movie version of MASH.)
ReplyDeleteGreat comparison. Glad to see others enjoyed as well.
DeleteJanet Jackson was on the show for a while.
ReplyDeleteGood catch.
DeleteI'd forgotten that. Unfortunately she's in the later seasons so I didn't get to see her in this mini-rewatch.
I feel like I watched the show... maybe the movie. On the other hand... I often get it confused with Flashdance. I can definitely hum the title track to Fame though... as well as What a Feeling from Flashdance.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as you said What a Feeling I started singing it in my head.
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