We probably won’t remember ‘Fame’

Remember “Fame,” that hit movie musical of 1980 about kids who went to New York’s High School for the Performing Arts? It was good, wasn’t it?

Well, now Hollywood gives us a remake that looks at four more years in the life of the school’s students, set in the modern day. Unfortunately, this class just isn’t as interesting as the old one.

Riding hard on the coattails of its predecessor, “Fame” makes no attempt at exposition and seems to base itself on the premise that everyone watching is a fan of the original. Some of the characters are interesting, but they take no emotional journey, and not much happens in the course of the running time.

Badly paced and lazily written, the film is worth seeing just for the song-and-dance numbers, which are fantastic. It’s refreshing to see a movie about dancing that knows how to film its dancers (I’m looking at you, “Hairspray”).

With no plot to speak of, but fabulous performances from a startling number of talented unknowns, “Fame” feels less like a movie and more like a scouting buffet for Hollywood talent agents. It still deserves a viewing, just so you can see all the future stars before they hit it big.