Despite being a
commercial failure when it was first released, Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000) is the kind of
movie that can easily please every audience member with its humour and
performances. That being said you might find a lot more to enjoy or indentify with
if you are either a fan of rock music or have an interest in journalism because
the movie focuses on a young reporter imbedded with an up-and-coming rock band
in the early 1970s. Since the movie is based on Crowe’s own experiences touring
with big name bands in his youth it gives a very accurate behind the scenes
look at that unique, entertaining, and sometimes damaging world.
The first time I
tried to watch the movie was during movie night when I was still living in my
mom’s place and it was my older brother’s turn to pick the movie. Unfortunately
this was still the days of renting DVDs and some nimrod had scratched the disc
so about ten minutes into the movie we gave up because the image kept screwing
up. Fast forward to last year when I finally get to check my brother’s choice
on Netflix without having to worry about a scratched DVD. Sorry Blockbuster,
this is why you went out of business. It actually helped a little for me to
wait a few years since now like the film protagonists I am a reporter and I
sometimes interview rock bands as part of my job. Maybe it’s because the 70s
are long gone, but I have yet to interview a band member who gets high on drugs
and jumps from the roof of a house into a pool while claiming to be a golden
god.
Crowe’s stand-in
throughout the story is William Miller (Patrick Fugit) a young man who is
actually much younger than he imagined since his protective mother Elaine
(Frances McDormand) lied to him about his age. His older sister Anita (Zooey
Deschanel) is instrumental in his life journey by deciding to leave the family
home early and telling William to pursue his dreams and to also go through her
extensive record collection. Dedication and hard work gets him a job working
for rock journalist Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to cover a Black
Sabbath concert. William’s young looks make it difficult for him to even get
through the front door of the concert, but he does manage to get backstage
where he befriend Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) the guitarist of a band called
Stillwater, and Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) a rock groupie.
Proving that
sometimes you need to know the right people, the connections land William a job
with Rolling Stone magazine to cover
Stillwater on the road. Of course the magazine has no idea William is actually
a minor, but if he pulls this off and gets a great article published it could
be the start of a long career. Not to mention he would be touring with a rock
band all over the country, which by all accounts sounds awesome. Only it is and
it isn’t.
Some of the many
words of wisdom Lester Bangs gives to William are that the members of
Stillwater are not his friends. He should focus on his assignment and getting
the story done, but as the tour progresses the line between professionalism and
friendship becomes blurred as he hangs out with the band members like he was
one of them. He also watches them do crazy things on drugs and put up groupies
as a stake during a poker game. Adding further complications is the love
triangle between William, Penny, and Russell. What exactly should he choose to
include in that article?
Meanwhile of
course William’s mom is constantly worried about the bad things her son could
be doing on the road, and rightfully so in some cases. It could have been easy
for McDormand to play that character as just a conservative mom who hates
hippies, but she does genuinely worry about her son’s well being and
understands why William worships the band. In a great scene she talks to
Russell over the phone and lets him know very bad things will happen to him if
her son’s spirit is broken. That is one mama bear you do not want to mess with.
This being a
movie about a touring 70s rock band the soundtrack is of course fantastic, with
hits from Elton John, David Bowie, and The Who. Also noteworthy is the
supporting cast made up of actors who had not yet achieved huge success, such
as Jimmy Fallon, Anna Paquin, Rainn Wilson, Jay Baruchel and Eric Stonestreet. Oddly
enough Patrick Fugit is now actually less famous than these actors despite
starting his career in an award-winning film.
Almost Famous has a lot to say about fame, music, journalism, but
also life in general. You don’t have to be an aspiring reporter to see wisdom
in the words of Hoffman’s or McDormand’s characters, since they are grown-ups
in a movie populated by characters who all have a lot of growing up to do,
regardless of how famous they are.
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