A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Director: Alan Parker
Stars: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Boyd Gaines, Albert Hague, Anne Meara, Gene Anthony Ray.
Louis Falco ... choreographer
William Gornell ... assistant choreographer
Watched online, ok print.
11 songs in the Soundtracks.
I'm not clear on the point of this film. To give us the pleasure of the talents of these people? Then maybe we should have focused on fewer students and really showcased them. To give us some flavor of what a HS of Performing Arts might be like? (Since we got inter-titles that broke the film into freshman through senior years, this might be the most likely.) Again, focus on fewer, and tell some stories. This gives us a smattering of experiences, and little coherence.
Unfortunately, I can only view this with hindsight. And even the most familiar faces have credits that end in the 90's. So it's not as though this is a launching pad for future stars. (They also have some B'way credits, so they might be more active there.) My favorite in the film, Gene Anthony Ray, a really talented actor, dies in '03.
Part of the trouble is the absence of the studio system, which trained and employed people for decades in it prime.
So it's another shrug from me.
MGM, dir. Parker; 6
