New Fame Ain't Gonna Last

Fame, the new remake of the classic 1980 musical about students at New York's High School for the Performing Arts, will be entertaining enough for tweeners, say critics, but its sanitized feel and lightweight characters make it a forgettable inferior to the gritty original.

• "As a demo reel showcasing seven promising young talents, it's pleasant enough. As a movie dramatizing the talent and dedication required to make it, the Fame reboot has fleet feet but lacks heart," writes Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer.

• Fame offers "slick entertainment with some exuberance, but it's devoid of soul or heart," says Cladia Puig, USA Today. The "bland and predictable story seems almost incidental to the showbiz angle, not unlike Disney's High School Musical movies."
• Alan Parker, director of the 1980 Fame, "understood that just because you're making a musical doesn't mean you have to coat it in sugar and candy hearts," says Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald. "Forget about living forever: This new Fame will be lucky to hang around for a month."

(More Kelsey Grammer stories.)