The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes sampled 30 reviews , and gave '' Fame '' a score of 83 % , with an average score of 7.2 out of 10 . The website 's consensus reads , " Just because '' Fame '' is a well-acted musical does n't mean it flinches against its surprisingly heavy topics . " Initial reactions among film critics were mixed . Gene Siskel of the '' Chicago Tribune '' awarded the film two-and-a-half stars out of four , writing , " When the kids perform , the movie sings , but their fictionalized personal stories are melodramatic drivel . " Dave Kehr of the '' Chicago Reader '' wrote , " The film is cut at such a frenzied pitch that it 's often possible to believe ( mistakenly ) that something significant is going on . " '' Variety '' magazine wrote , " The great strength of the film is in the school scenes – when it wanders away from the scholastic side as it does with increasing frequency as the overlong feature moves along , it loses dramatic intensity and slows the pace . " Roger Ebert of the '' Chicago Sun-Times '' awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four writing , " '' Fame '' is a genuine treasure , moving and entertaining , a movie that understands being a teen-ager as well as '' Breaking Away '' did , but studies its characters in a completely different milieu . " William Gallagher , in his review for the BBC , wrote , " Alan Parker manages to make this a fairly horrible story even while it remains entertaining . You come away from it with all your preconceptions about the glamour of showbusiness wiped away and you ca n't help but admire the characters who get through . " '' Fame '' garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories , with particular praise for its title song performed by Irene Cara . It received four Golden Globe Award nominations , including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy , Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy ( Cara ) , and Best Original Score ( Michael Gore ) . At the 38th Golden Globe Awards , the film only won one award for Best Original Song ( " Fame " ) . At the 53rd Academy Awards , the film received a total of six Oscar nominations , including Best Original Screenplay , Best Film Editing and Best Sound . The songs " Fame " and " Out Here on My Own " both received nominations for Best Original Song ; it marked the first time in Academy Awards history that two songs from one film were nominated in the same category . The film won for Best Original Score , while " Fame " won the Academy Award for Best Original Song
38th Golden Globe Awards
38th Golden Globe Awards
Fame (1980 film)