During a time where overnight celebrities are a dime a dozen, the notion that it takes grit, sweat, perseverance, and tears to become famous somehow feels both old-fashioned and refreshing at the same time. So maybe it's a good thing that Hollywood has chosen this moment to revisit Alan Parker and Christopher Gore's 1980 hit Fame -- a classic musical set among the fiery and ambitious students of the New York Academy of Performing Arts.

It is ironic that Kevin Tancharoen, the 25-year-old choreographer turned feature-film director, fills the immensely talented student body for Fame with performers who'd burst onto the scene courtesy of the primetime reality/talent/popularity programs that contribute to the delusion of celebrity. Nimble ballerina Kherington Payne, for example, appeared on So You Think You Can Dance before scoring the role of Alice, an Upper East Side debutante with a blazing knack for modern choreography. Co-star Anna Maria Perez de Tagle also appeared on one episode of Dance, while power-ballad belter Naturi Naughton courted record executives as a member of the pop group 3LW, opening for the likes of Destiny's Child and Jessica Simpson.

But Tancharoen tapped these talents because they can sizzle, not because they're flashes in the pan, and their contributions teach Fame how to fly (high!). Yes, Irene Cara's title track finds its way into the remake, along with actress Debbie Allen and the soaring piano tune "Out Here on My Own" (which Naughton nails in a very powerful scene). However, Tancharoen's Fame is its own animal: a modern, gritty, hip, and cool musical with spontaneous and organic jams and a musical styling tailored for today's teenagers.

The young cast attending the New York High School of Performing Arts (the real name of the high school on which the original's Academy of Performing Arts was based) has plugged into the collective notion of entertaining, rising to the challenge of a solo -- Payne's dance sequence is a beautiful escape -- yet also finding ways to stand out when collaborating as an ensemble. Better-known, veteran actors like Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth, Megan Mullally, and Charles S. Dutton bring needed experience to the roles of faculty members, but they're support structures for their talented, younger co-stars and don't demand too much of the spotlight.

Because Fame trades in creativity and artistic stimulation, the left-brain functions of an ordinary screenplay -- plot, character development -- take a back seat to the high-powered singing and high-energy dancing. But the talent on screen is so impressive that we don't really mind. Too many remakes flooding multiplexes are easily forgettable. Fame is one I'll remember (remember, remember…)



You're not gonna live forever jumping like that, bub.