Fame (R, 1980)

This 30 year old movie and it's mores are very dated by today's standards. The huge serious scene of a boy admitting he's gay seemed really overblown, since it's not unusual for teens to describe themselves as gay these days. I had to explain to my daughter why the director and writer made such a big deal out of it. The review mentions issues of sex and a character getting an abortion because of it. The treatment is far tamer than say, Dirty Dancing, which only has a PG-13 rating. In fact, it's hard for me to pinpoint just how this movie got its R. I don't think it would be rated the same if it were released today. For the current generation growing up with movies like Hairspray and High School Musical, this offers a less saccharin but no less exuberant view of singing and dancing teens. My daughter found it more funny than gritty (there is a fair amount of humor) and I had to patiently explain pop culture of the late 70's like Freddie Prince and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you remember it fondly from the big screen, you will probably enjoy it more than your kids, but if they like to sing and dance, they are likely to be fascinated by the concept of a performing arts school.

I liked it! I'm 14 and I watched it with my mum and she thought it was fine. I mean - who hasn't seen breasts before? And the language is used all the time by people much younger than me. I thought that it was a brilliant movie that showed the pain and the triumph of stardom and it was very realistic as it shows getting famous isn't just ladedada. It shows you have to make sacrifices and work hard to reach your goals. Overall it was a good film and I think parent's should stop having a scare as their little darlings are being exposed to the "f" word in it - I mean we're exposed to swearing and sexual things WAY more at school!

LOVE IT BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!