The 1980 film "Fame," directed by Alan Parker, was a movie of its time. It touched on life in New York City in that day, and it looked at kids and their dreams at the New York City High School of the Performing Arts.

It was a hit then, but has really not stood the test of time. The film looks dated.

So when a remake of sorts was announced, people wondered if the story was going to be updated or touch on the nostalgia of the original.

The answer is yes and a little bit.

The best way to describe the "Fame" of 2009 is that it's a blend of MTV and Disney. Think of perhaps, "High School Musical" the inner city version.

There are young, good looking and talented kids who are the focus of the new "Fame." Most of them probably could be seen pictured singing and dancing with Troy, Gabriella, Chad and Sharpay from the "High School Musical" series.

The story backgrounds of the new kids on the block are a little grittier, but watered down.

Two songs from the original film are presented, but the title song is only at the end, over the closing credits. And Debbie Allen is in a couple scenes - not as the instructor she played in the original, but as the principal.

One other touch of nostalgia is the supporting cast of well-known actors who play the instructors at "P.A.," as the kids call it.

Along with Allen are Charles S. Dutton, Megan Mullally, Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth. They all do well in supporting the kids, and Mullally actually gets to belt out an old standard that is a show-stopper.

First-time director Kevin Tancharoen is familiar working in the musical genre, serving as the choreographer on "You Got Served" in 2004 about street dancing. He has also directed the Brittney Spears "Onyx Hotel Tour" (2004) and has worked with N'Sync, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson.

The students are played by mostly unknowns, who might be familiar to some.

The biggest standout is Naturi Naughton, who plays classically trained pianist Denise Dupree. A former member of a marginal pop band, 3LW, she also played Lil' Kim in the movie "Notorious" (2009). Naughton has a tremendous singing voice that just shines. Her version of the song from the original film, "Out There On My Own," is simply stunning.

Kay Panabaker, Nikki on the former WB network series "Summerland" and a veteran of several Disney TV shows, plays the innocent Jenny Garrison. She is wooed by Asher Book as Marco, another outstanding singer, who actually attended the school in real life.

They make a cute couple in what is basically a lightweight love story that really doesn't offer much drama or conflict.

Kherington Payne, is a lovely girl, who is a tremendous dancer and was a top 10 finalist of season four of "So You Think You Can Dance." She didn't win that competition, but yes, she can dance.

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle is Joy Moy, an aspiring actress, who drops out of the school after earning a part on "Sesame Street." She has a recurring role as Ashley DeWitt on "Hannah Montana."

The cast does an OK job with the bland screenplay by Allison Burnett, but they are not asked by the director to go very deep with their characters.

But there are some entertaining dance numbers and songs. The choreography by Marguerite Pomerhn Derricks is good.

Interesting to me is that all the pundits said this remake was designed to reach the teen girls who liked "High School Musical" and any of the other inner city dance flicks. At the showing of "Fame" that I attended, the crowd consisted of mostly people who were of the age to remember the original. They liked it.

I didn't love "Fame" and I probably won't remember anyone's name. But the story itself, with updates every 10 to 20 years, might just live forever.

C on the Brad-O-Meter