When I first saw the preview a few months back, I knew I would have to see this.  I also knew my sisters would see it as well.  It just so happens three of us saw it on the same day.  However we all live miles and miles and miles apart.  My niece texted me that my review should consist of all of our opinions.  What a great idea.

We all saw the original film from 1980.  I didn’t see it in the theater (since I was so young), but they did (obviously they are much much older than me). So in order of age, here goes – 3 Sisters, 3 Cities, 1 Movie.  And if you read through all the way to the end, there will be a giveaway!

Gretchen is the third of the five children in our family (Yes, we are all over 40 but I like referring to us as children).  She lives in Michigan, splitting her time between Westland and West Branch.  And when she gets a chance, spending as much time as possible in NY with her grand daughter.  Although she has a blog, she doesn’t update it nearly often enough.  I know a bunch of you are already following her on Twitter, but I bet you didn’t know she was my sister (Hi @Anniemal!).

One Diet Pepsi

Erika is child number four and although I’m the youngest she has always been the baby.  She is the reason the entire family started blogging when back in 2003 she chronicled her pregnancy day by day for all of us, and still posts about her son with a picture every. single. day.  (if she skips a day for any reason other than death she is heavily chastised).  She resides in Indiana with said son and hubby and can be spotted at either a park with J or a slot machine with Sue at any given moment.  You can also follow her on Twitter if you so choose.

Wow, did this movie suck! I did not want it to suck. I did not expect it to suck. I expected the same emotional reaction I had to the original movie back in 1980. Maybe that movie was just as bad, but I was 16 and excited and thrilled by the possibility of such a school existing. I wanted to go to that school. I cared about those characters. I loved Leroy and Bruno.  And when Montgomery tried to kill himself, I cared. I cried.

In this new movie I didn’t give a damn about any of them. I didn’t know anything about any of them. The stories were all so shallow and superficial there was not one character that made me care. In this new movie there was a young cutey singer boy that I wanted to care about. But the entirety of what you got to know about him is that his family owned a restaurant and he liked the Juliette Lewis look-alike character.  Sorry, not enough to make me care.

They zoomed through four years of high school without any of them growing or changing. The Juliette Lewis wannabe was still the shy, uptight, bad singer she started out as. The lead dancer girl (who would not get a ticket to Vegas) stayed exactly the same the entire time. Again, I just didn’t care.

I was a little surprised to see the suicide attempt, because I could not remember who that character was. Then I remember that he was the one that was told to go back to Iowa, yeah, I did not feel his devastation. I just didn’t care.

And the teachers!  Kelsey Grammer looked bored and embarrassed to be in this movie. I love Bebe Neuwirth, but she did nothing. I even love Megan Mullally, but it must have been written into her contract that she would get to sing. That karaoke scene was painful to watch, it felt forced and fake.

The whole movie was a waste of time. Put the old one back on the big screen. I would buy a ticket!

1 Diet Coke

And me, I am the youngest of five.  I like walks on the beach and slow jazz music – oh wait, wrong bio.

They should have titled this film Fame 2 (in the same regard of suckitude as Grease 2) or even High School Musical #456.  It was of that same ineptitude of writing and lack of character depth.

There were two parts I enjoyed, seeing Debbie Allen as the Principal and Megan Mullally’s kareoke.  Other than that, it took all of my energy to not walk out.

Although it has been years since I saw the original, I couldn’t help but compare it throughout the film  “Nope, he can’t dance like Leroy.”  “Oh look, there is the requisite curly headed kid.”  “Ah, the classical musician getting her groove on.”  But I didn’t give two whits about them.

The only character we learned anything about was the actor boy and that is only because Charles S Dutton pulled it out of him as part of the story line.  Even then it wasn’t enough.

I wonder if now because of the onslaught of MySpace and Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, if the chance of becoming a “star” is easier than it was 30 years ago.  Does that make this school, less important?  Does it make us more jaded about who attends such a school?

I think that would have been a better concept for this supposed remake.

1 Diet Coke (that’s only because I liked the girl singing Out Here On My Own)

As promised, if you made it this far through the review I have a special giveaway for you.  Prizes have been provided by Moonlight Rollerway here in Glendale.  The winner will receive a Fame t-shirt (may be different color than pictured), poster, compact and glitter sunscreen!  Just leave a comment with your favorite Musical.  Winner will be drawn on October 4.