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"FAME" (1980) (Irene Cara, Gene Anthony Ray) (R) QUICK TAKE: Musical Drama: A group of students who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts also learn about love, life and growing up. PLOT: The film is set at a New York high school for the performing arts and tells multiple, interlocking stories of the dance, theater and music students who attend. The film is broken up into five sections: Auditions, Freshman Year, Sophomore Year, Junior Year, and Senior Year and takes the main characters right up to graduation. We meet Ralph (BARRY MILLER), a young Puerto Rican man with loads of personality who first wants to become an actor, then finds his niche as a standup comic. Doris (MAUREEN TEEFY) is a deeply shy performer who dreams of a career on the stage if she can overcome her own self-doubts and overbearing mother. Montgomery (PAUL McCRANE) is the young gay actor who befriends her, despite having personality issues of his own. Among the dancers, Leroy (GENE ANTHONY RAY) stands out as a prodigy with tremendous raw talent, but is angry from his years on the mean streets of Harlem. Coco (IRENE CARA) befriends him and nurses a not-so-secret attraction that brings her into conflict with Hilary (ANTONIA FRANCESCHI), a white dancer who becomes sexually involved with Leroy possibly as a way to get back at her recently re-married, rich father. They are friends with Lisa (LAURA DEAN), a dance student who can't seem to pick up the steps or find her passion and falls into temporary despair. On the music side, Bruno (LEE CURRERI) is a stubborn prodigy who wants only to write, record and play his own music with no other help except Coco, who can also sing. This brings him into conflict with his primary teacher, Mr. Shorofsky (ALBERT HAGUE) and his well-meaning, but equally stubborn father (EDDIE BARTH). WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? In its time, it was quite popular with high-school and college kids. Of course, being a 1980 film, there are some elements that are laughably dated. But the film's energy remains intact, as do its standout performance sequences. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R The film was released in 1980 before the MPAA specified why it would rate films G, PG, R, and so forth. Clearly, though, the R rating is for language, sexual situations, nudity and some drug use. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: GENE ANTHONY RAY plays a charismatic dance prodigy from Harlem, who has loads of raw talent but has serious anger issues. He can barely read, he uses profanity a lot and secretly lives on the street. IRENE CARA plays a music student with a beautiful singing voice who is naïve about the ways of the world to the point where she is lured into a compromising situation by a man who claims to be a film director, but secretly wants to film her naked. MAUREEN TEEFY plays a meek aspiring actress who is sheltered and dominated by her overbearing mother in the beginning of the movie and eventually asserts her own independence to the point where she strikes up a sexual relationship with a fellow student and considers changing her name to move away from her Jewish roots. She also becomes a casual drinker and pot smoker. BARRY MILLER plays a hot-headed Puerto Rican actor-comedian wannabe who idolizes the late Freddie Prinze. He has loads of personality, but lies often about his father to mask the fact that the man was highly abusive. He gets into a sexual relationship with Doris, takes pharmaceutical drugs not prescribed to him, and smokes both cigarettes and pot. PAUL McCRANE plays an aspiring actor who sees a psychiatrist regularly whose mental issues stem from the fact that he is a closet homosexual living in a less permissive time. He also grew up largely without parents, as his father left at an early age and his mother was a working actress often on the road. He is a casual drinker. LEE CURRERI plays a music prodigy who comes into conflict with his fiercely proud, but often overbearing father. He also believes he can make it completely on his own, hates playing with other musicians, and eschews traditional instruments in favor of synthesizers and pre-set drum beats. LAURA DEAN plays a dancer who clearly lacks the talent to make it on stage and briefly considers suicide. ANTONIA FRANCESCHI plays a dancer with loads of talent, bitter that his father has re-married a gold-digging woman. She becomes pregnant by Leroy and ultimately decides to have an abortion. ANNE MEARA plays a teacher who clashes regularly with Leroy. ALBERT HAGUE plays a music teacher who clashes regularly with Bruno. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this musical drama that has been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 53 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is also present, along with nudity, implied sex and a sequence in which a high-school student is lured to an apartment by an older man and manipulated into stripping on camera. Violence consists of a brief scuffle on the street with punches thrown and a sequence in which one of the main characters goes into a rage and breaks multiple pieces of furniture. Bad attitudes are present, as is potentially imitative behavior, tense family material, and various thematic elements. Drinking is present, too, along with cigarette and marijuana smoking and some implied prescription drug abuse. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, all sorts of camera movement occurs throughout the film along with some rapid-fire editing as the film intercuts at least a half-dozen characters' stories. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Ralph convinces Montgomery to give him the drugs prescribed by his psychiatrist. It is later implied that this arrangement has gone on throughout most of their four years at school. Ralph and Doris smoke pot while attending a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." It is intimated that Ralph becomes a heavy drinker and continues to take drugs recreationally once he achieves success as a stand-up comic. Audience members are seen enjoying alcoholic beverages at a comedy-club performance. Ralph tells a joke about "Cokeheads" from the South Bronx thinking street lines are cocaine. Ralph's dressing room has booze and cigarettes. BLOOD/GORE Ralph simulates defecating in a toilet during one acting class. We hear one student finish urinating, then exit his bathroom stall. That same student is shown later in the film going to the bathroom as several students stand atop his stall peeping in the girls' changing room. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Leroy and a female friend are quite mouthy to Mrs. Sherwood while trying to gain admission to the school auditions. When Leroy is accepted into the school and she isn't, the female friend curses out the administrators and leaves screaming, never to be heard from again. Leroy's four friends from Harlem make lewd, sexual gestures towards Coco as she walks by them. Leroy wears headphones and listens to music while the attendance roll is called on the first day of school. Ralph talks while his drama teacher is teaching class. So, too, do Coco and Lisa in their dance class. Lisa chews gum also. Ralph falls asleep in one acting class. Bruno openly challenges his music teacher, believing that he doesn't need to play with other musicians and can do all of his music alone on synthesizers. Leroy often yells and curses at Mrs. Sherwood. Ralph makes fun of Doris' friendship with the gay Montgomery, telling her she could star in a show titled "I Was a Teenage Fag Hag." Leroy is shown roller-skating through the school. When Mrs. Sherwood tells him to stop, he gives her the middle finger when she is not looking. Coco lies to Bruno and his dad about where she lives. Leroy's friends from his neighborhoods shout gay slurs at him when he walks by in his dance tights. For those opposed to abortion, Hilary becomes pregnant presumably with Leroy's child and chooses abortion. Leroy never knows. Leroy yells at Mrs. Sherwood at the hospital, failing to recognize that she is there grieving her gravely ill husband. A man lies to Coco that he is a movie director to lure her to his apartment where he coaxes her into removing her clothes for a "screen test." FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling and/or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those low tolerance levels for such material. Ralph's 5-year-old sister leaves the family's apartment alone and goes wandering out into the night in the South Bronx. She is later found and said to have been attacked. Lisa walks to the edge of a subway platform as a train loudly approaches. The train screams by and, through clever film editing, we are briefly made to think she has jumped. A pervert posing as a movie director lures Coco to an apartment, where she is compelled to strip and suck her thumb for a "screen test." GUNS/WEAPONS Leroy carries a large knife into his audition and is ordered to surrender it. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "I don't give a f*ck," "You saved me four f*cking years from this sh*t-licking school," "Some fat f*cking favor," "I suppose a f*ck is out of the equation," "Give me a f*cking break," "Ab-so-f*cking-lutely," "It sure as sh*t helps," "He's writing some good sh*t," "You G*ddamn faggot," "That's a G*ddamn lie," "Hey, faggot! Hey, cupcake," "I Was a Teenage Fag Hag," "That's not music, Martelli. That's masturbation," "He's not into vanilla," "I might be a welcome change from black cherry," "The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice," "If you don't laugh at me, you'll get cancer" and "Shut your mouth." During the audition process, one dancer is shown chewing gum and another sticks her tongue out at another dancer. Leroy's four friends from Harlem make lewd, sexual gestures towards Coco as she walks by them. Bruno cracks his knuckles. Leroy wears headphones and listens to music while the attendance roll is called on the first day of school. Ralph talks while his drama teacher is teaching class. So, too, do Coco and Lisa in their respective classes. Lisa chews gum also. Bruno openly challenges his music teacher, believing that he doesn't need to play with other musicians and can do all of his music alone on synthesizers. Over the years, Leroy constantly butts heads with Mrs. Sherwood, often yelling and cursing at her. Dancers and other artists pour out of the school and begin performing in the street, holding mid-day Manhattan traffic. Several of the dancers even hop up on trapped vehicles and dance on top of them, much to the anger of their drivers. Leroy swats Coco on the bottom as she is drinking from a water fountain. Leroy is shown roller-skating through the school. When Mrs. Sherwood tells him to stop, he gives her the middle finger when she is not looking. Lisa walks to the edge of a subway platform and briefly contemplates suicide as a train approaches, but stops herself. At a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," several audience members are dressed as Tim Curry's transvestite character. A man lies to Coco that he is a movie director to lure her to his apartment where he coaxes her into removing her clothes for a "screen test." Hilary chooses abortion when faced with an unwanted pregnancy. JUMP SCENES Lisa walks to the edge of a subway platform as a train loudly approaches. The train screams by and, through clever film editing, we are briefly made to think she has jumped. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) The sequence where Leroy is ripping up a hallway and destroying furniture plays out as a school chorus sings a shrill, opera-like song. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 53 "f" words (2 used with "mother"), 12 "s" words, 1 slang term used twice for male genitals ("d*ck"), 1 slang term used three times for female breasts ("t*ts"), 6 asses (4 used with "hole"), 2 damns, 2 hells, 7 uses of "G-damn," and 1 use each of "Jesus" and "My God." SEX/NUDITY Throughout the film, dancers are shown making highly sexual moves with a lot of grinding, leg-spreading and such. Leroy is especially suggestive with his moves. On the first day of classes, Montgomery passes a couple of prostitutes on the street. Leroy's four friends from Harlem make lewd, sexual gestures towards Coco as she walks by them. Ralph crudely "outs" Montgomery to Doris, who later admits to be sexually attracted to his male therapist. Ralph jokes "I suppose a f*ck is out of the equation." Male students find a peephole into the girls' locker room where they twice witness topless female students changing clothes. Hilary claims her stepmother has multiple orgasms when she shops. Hilary and Coco openly vie for Leroy's in a sexual manner. African-American Coco taunts white Hilary by stating, "He's not into vanilla." To which Hilary replies, "It might be a welcome change from black cherry." And Coco answers, "The darker the berry, the sweeter the fruit." At a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," several audience members are dressed as Tim Curry's transvestite character. Leroy swats Coco on the bottom as she is drinking from a water fountain. A pervert posing as a movie director lures Coco to an apartment, where she is compelled to strip and suck her thumb for a "screen test." Doris and Ralph have sex off-screen, and Doris' mother later chastises her for it. It is then implied that their sexual relationship continues. Hilary becomes pregnant with Leroy's child and chooses abortion. Ralph jokingly tells Doris not to rape anyone when he puts her on a subway train for home. Ralph tells a joke about kids from the South Bronx having sex earlier than other kids. SMOKING Doris and Ralph attend a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" where numerous audience members smoke. Ralph is shown at several moments in the film with an unlit cigarette either in his hand or dangling from his mouth. Ralph smokes during lunch at a restaurant Coco and other audience members smoke at a comedy club. Richard Belzer playing himself smokes on stage. Ralph's dressing room has booze and cigarettes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Doris' overbearing mother sits in on her auditions, embarrassing her. Doris fights with her mother, who pressures her into singing and performing at the birthday party of a friend's child. Doris quarrels with her mother later in the film when she reveals that she has become sexually active and would like to change her Jewish name to something that would get her more roles. Montgomery laments that his mother, a famous actress, has spent long periods away from him throughout his life and that his father left the family when he was very young. Bruno's cabbie father has numerous disagreements with his son over his music. Ralph lies constantly about his father and his accomplishments until he reveals during an acting class that he was a violent man who abused both him and his sisters. Leroy yells at Mrs. Sherwood at the hospital, failing to recognize that she is there grieving her gravely ill husband. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The commitment and effort it takes to becoming a great entertainer or performer. How fun it is to dance and sing and act for play, but how hard it is when being trained to do those things professionally. Abortion. Contemplating suicide. Illiteracy. Child abuse. Homosexuality. Recreational drug use, especially among creative types. Coco says the performing arts school is better than a regular city school where she would likely be raped. VIOLENCE A brief street fight breaks out near the school between random street people as students pass by. The scene is fleeting and meant to show the grittiness of the city. Leroy goes into a rage when Mrs. Sherwood challenges his reading skills. He kicks a chair, tosses around a trash can, and breaks the glass doors of numerous bookcases in an adjoining hallway. Bruno's father gets into a fistfight with a random motorist, who is angry that his route is blocked by street dancers that Bruno's dad incited. When his neighborhood friends hurl gay slurs at him from their top-down convertible, Leroy responds by taking a trash can full of garbage and dumping it on them. Reviewed off DVD / Posted September 25, 2009