Fame (1980)

Fame (1980) follows the lives of four students at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts, where every student is training to be an actor, singer, dancer, or musician. That's right, they're show people . . . and they do show! From auditions to gain admission, all through the four years until graduation, viewers watch as our teens struggle to balance making it in showbiz with schoolwork and the usual teen drama. There's Coco (Irena Cara), the girl so talented she enrolls in the acting, music and dancing program. Ralph (Barry Miller), who thinks the only way for him to make it as an actor is to pretend to be white, despite being Puerto Rican. He even thinks he can make it as a comedian, despite not being all that funny. Leroy (Gene Anthony Ray), on the other end of the ambition spectrum, didn't even want to go to the school, he was begged to attend when he tried to help a buddy out during his audition. Montgomery (Paul McCrane) is a great actor, in that he's super gay but pretends to be straight. Leroy ends up knocking a rich girl up which puts the kabosh on her acting dreams. Plus, he can't really read, which causes some issues in English class. Ralph ends up on coke, Coco gets casting couched, and all the kiddos learn that showbiz is a tough, tough business when the school's star student from a few years back (Boyd Gaines) ends up waiting tables not too far from the school. And, of course, they all stop traffic and dance in the streets to Irene Cara's iconic theme song. But what'll have you going from mouthing "baby look at me' to screaming "oh baby, look at those!" is when Irene Cara learns about the hard knocks of the business when she has to expose her heavy knockers to get a part. Those Coco-melons are sure to get her famous! There's also a scene backstage where Nora Catrone is caught without her shirt on but quickly covers up her small wonders with a shocked yet happy smile on her face. All the other kids are usually prancing around in leotards, including tall drink of water Antonia Franceschi, who's red hot in a starched white bra. In Fame, they may not live forever, but audiences' private dancers will learn how to fly!