Article Date: 12/01/2008 12:34 PM
Look, I know I may have gone all crazy for High School Musical, but it's only because in my heart I've always wanted real life to look a lot more like, well, Fame. (My distant runner-up for favorite film in this category is the Sondheim-obsessed Camp.)
A remake of the now-classic 1980 film about kids attending a dramatic arts high school in New York CIty starts shooting this week, with Debbie Allen, Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton and Bebe Neuwirth all lined up to play teachers. (The kids are largely unknowns; Allen had a small cameo in 1980 as a teacher but now will play the school's principal.)
At a special screening of the original in LA earlier this year, Debbie Allen (the original choreographer) was greeted with a standing ovation from a crowd full of former drama and band geeks, and spoke movingly of how the film inspired school districts across the country to implement arts-specific programs. (Three cheers from the queers and other outcasts in the audience!)
I really recommend renting the original, especially if you've never seen it. There's no high kicks special edition DVD, but the film itself holds up well -- and unlike, say, HSM3, the gay character (played by Paul McCrane, later of ER "Rocket" Romano fame) has a storyline that's front and center and, though a bit painful and dated, it's honest and sincere. Here's hoping the remake doesn't go back in the closet.
In the meantime, here, have the lunch scene. It trumps every other "spontaneous" dance number in a teen movie ever, and if this doesn't wake you up on a wintry Monday morning, you've obviously got way bigger problems than a musical can fix:
"You want fame?...Well, fame costs. And here's where you start paying...in sweat!"
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