In “High School Musical,” the students randomly burst out in song and dance numbers whenever they darn well please – and it is just a normal high school. Corny? Obviously. Plausible? Most definitely not.
So you would think that “Fame,” a high school drama set in an arts conservatory, would seize the opportunity to give us what we so desperately want (at least in the eyes of Disney Channel) and deliver rousing musical numbers because we would actually buy it here.
Wrong. In fact, “Fame” is hardly a musical at all. Save for its rocking finale and the titular track, there is barely any music scattered amongst all the cliched teen angst that it forces us to sit through (I don’t count listening to Megan Mullally do “You Took Advantage of Me” at a karaoke bar as a “number,” nor the ten millionth cover of “Someone to Watch Over Me”). And this is a shame because there really is some talent, particularly from the school songbird played by Naturi Naughton (formerly of the band 3LW, which included two of Disney’s Cheetah Girls). I own the soundtrack – thankfully I didn’t buy it – and it has 20 songs, and I still find it confounding that music plays such a small part.
As for the movie itself, I could not find even the slightest morsel of care for any of the characters, mainly because I knew their exact trajectory from the moment they stepped on the screen. It’s the same hackneyed teenage drama that Disney Channel has shoved down our throats for years. At this point, it has gone far beyond old – it’s offensive. How many times are they going to produce the same uninspired stories? Equally as important, how many times are they going to subject us to the frustration of watching the same movie again and again? Even if there was even the slightest tinge of imagination in the writing, it still would have been a stretch for me to feel anything for the characters because the only one that gets a decent amount of screentime is the lovestruck Jenny (Kay Panabaker, ironically a familiar Disney Channel face).
My parents generation loved the original movie and the TV series that it spawned, but I couldn’t help but wonder as I watched why this needed to be remade. Why bother to make a musical without music? Why bother to give us another outlandish chronicle of teenage problems? Why bother to “update” a movie when you have nothing new to offer? C- /
Today is September 1st, a date that marks the start of the fall movie season (at least in my mind). I have posted half of my fall movie preview and I have also asked my readers to answer the poll for their most anticipated movie in that month. I just decided that the movie that wins this poll wins a “Shameless Advertisement” on the first day of the month. NOTE: If I don’t want to see the movie, I have no qualms in calling it a “shameful advertisement.”
In September, 6 readers took the poll. I have a positive statistic to report for once. 86% of readers who looked at the post took the poll. Thanks, readers for giving me hope that you do listen, and that I’m not just a lost lumberjack crying the wilderness when I ask you to share your opinions!
No movie won a clear majority of the votes, and I have decided my tiebreaker to be the movie that I want to see the most. But, in the interest of fairness, I will post a link to the trailers for the other two “winners”: “Jennifer’s Body” and “Fame.”
I guess this sort of serves as a “fall movie preview.” With this, I want to present what I’m looking forward to in September, what other might be looking forward to, and hopefully introduce you to some movies that you might not have heard of yet.
September 4
The movie that I’m most excited for opening this week is “Extract,” the latest comedy from Mike Judge, creator of “Office Space” and TV’s “King of the Hill.” The movie stars Jason Bateman, who has been in nearly every comedy and yet I still have not tired of him, as the owner of an extract factory who is a bit down on his luck. Also featuring a great supporting cast which includes J.K. Simmons (“Spider-Man,” “Juno”), Mila Kunis (TV’s “That ’70s Show”), Kristen Wiig (“SNL”), and Ben Affleck, the movie looks to be truly hilarious entertainment.
Other releases this week include “All About Steve,” a comedy with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper (“The Hangover”), and “Gamer,” a non-stop action film with Gerard Butler (“The Ugly Truth”).
September 9 & 11
Opening on 9/9/09, “9” uses a clever marketing ploy to hopefully drive audiences its way. But I’m not sold. The ever creepy and quirky Tim Burton is behind it, and I have never really been into his type of movies. The story revolves around nine CGI animated rag dolls living in a post-apocalyptic world. Maybe this will be some sort of a breakout hit, but until I hear buzz from friends or other bloggers I trust, I’m not throwing my money at it.
“9” is the big attraction of the week. Also opening is Tyler Perry’s latest movie “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” starring Taraji P. Henson of “Benjamin Button” fame, the thriller “Whiteout” starring the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale, and the horror flick “Sorority Row.”
September 18
There are several movies to get excited about that open this weekend. First and foremost is “The Informant,” starring Matt Damon. It takes your usual FBI rat story and flips it on its head, turning it into a comedy. I have always thought Damon has a great knack for subtle comedy, perfectly illustrated in the “Ocean’s” movies. The director is Steven Soderbergh, Oscar winner for “Traffic,” but has also helmed “Erin Brockovich” and all three “Ocean’s” films. And the good news is that this is only Matt Damon’s first role of the year with Oscar potential (see the December preview later).
Also opening is “Jennifer’s Body,” which is the first film written by Diablo Cody since winning the Oscar for “Juno.” It stars Hollywood’s beauty queen Megan Fox as a vampire who eats guys at her high school. Her presence alone will drive every young guy in America to this movie. It also features Amanda Seyfried, one of the bright spots in the otherwise disastrous film adaptation of “Mamma Mia!” I love the quick-witted humor of “Juno,” and although this doesn’t appear to offer similar antics, curiosity (and Megan Fox) will probably get me.
In limited release, “Bright Star” opens, a movie consider by many to be a major Oscar player. It isn’t the kind of movie that excites me just from watching the trailer, but the buzz surrounding it coming out of the Cannes Film Festival can’t be discarded. The movie follows the life of the poet John Keats in the early 1800s. It is directed by Jane Campion, writer/director of “The Piano,” and features a cast of nearly no recognizable names. I feel obliged to tell you about it because many are sure that you will be hearing about it during awards season and also because so many people love movies set in the beautiful English country with tons of beautiful costumes and people.
Also opening is “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” an animated adaptation of one of my favorite books growing up. Unfortunately, their idea of adapting it is taking the basic premise of food raining from the sky and destroying the rest of the original story. Maybe I will check it out for old time’s sake, but I’m not expecting anything special. The week also puts forth a romantic drama “Love Happens” starring Aaron Eckhart (“The Dark Knight”) and Jennifer Aniston. And technically, the writer/director of “Babel,” Guillermo Ariaga, releases his latest movie, “The Burning Plain,” to theaters this weekend, but you can watch it on demand starting August 21 if you are that curious.
September 25
Being a musical theater junkie, I feel that it is my duty to push “Fame.” The movie is a musical that follows a group of talented artists throughout their four years in high school in New York. At a time in their lives where they don’t know if they have what it takes it to make it big, all the emotions appear to run high. The movie features no stars. so hopefully this will launch some very promising careers.
For action fans, Bruce Willis is at it again in a high concept sci-fi called “Surrogates,” in which everyone in the world controls a robotic version of themselves from home called a surrogate. Willis plays a detective who investigates the possibility of the surrogates killing the user who operates it. For sci-fi fans, a screamfest called “Pandorum” with Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster (“3:10 To Yuma”) looks to deliver. For all those craving a raunchy comedy, a little studio will try to pack you into “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell,” adapted from the tales of drinking and its consequences in the book of the same name. In limited release, those who like the costumes of “Bright Star” get “Coco Before Chanel,” the story of the legendary fashion designer. (NOTE: “The Invention of Lying” was pushed back to October 2.)
So, readers, what is your most anticipated in September? Anything I left off? Take the poll and let me know.
In “High School Musical,” the students randomly burst out in song and dance numbers whenever they darn well please – and it is just a normal high school. Corny? Obviously. Plausible? Most definitely not.
Marshall and the Movies 
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