Almost Famous
Uplifting coming-of-age stories generally don't do it for me. That is, unless they include great dialogue, comedy and drama, top-notch performances and a fantastic soundtrack. And that's exactly what multiple Oscar nominee Almost Famous has going for it. Of course, the fact that the main character lives out my dream of touring with a rock band doesn't hurt, either.
Almost Famous takes place during the early '70s, an era when rock legends such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and The Who were in their prime. It's into this milieu that William Miller (Patrick Fugit), an earnest 15-year-old, finds himself thrust when he scores a Rolling Stone magazine assignment to cover a rising rock band called Stillwater. Against the odds, Fugit works his way into the inner circle of the band, initially winning their respect through his knowledge of their music.
What begins as a short assignment turns into a multiple-month odyssey during which Patrick follows the band as it tours and grows from a second-tier rock group into superstars. Several compelling relationships develop along the way, including a unique friendship between William and the band's guitarist, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), and a touching bond between William and Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a Stillwater groupie who prefers to be referred to as a Band-Aid. As dissension brews and excess rages within the band, Patrick is faced with a difficult decision: tell the band's real story and sell-out its members, or write a powder-puff boring article that might end his journalistic career.
If the characters and their relationships with one another seem startlingly real in Almost Famous, that's because director/screenwriter Cameron Crowe (Say Anything, Jerry Maguire) based the story on his own experiences. As a result, Crowe gets every little detail right, from the band interactions to family dynamics to the music itself, to the point where you may start wondering whether this Stillwater band is real or fiction. Was Almost Famous robbed of a Best Picture nomination? You bet your ass.
The brilliant ensemble cast wonderfully compliments Crowe's razor-sharp writing skills. In the lead role, the underrated Fugit is utterly believable. Academy Award nominee Hudson gives a performance that's simultaneously sexy, strong and vulnerable. Crudup is by turns obnoxious, kind, egotistical and funny. And Jason Lee (Chasing Amy) again showcases his fine comic touch as Stillwater's lead singer, especially when he attacks Russell for hogging too much of the limelight, "I'm the frontman, and you're the guitarist with mystique!"
The film is so strong that it forces me to admit that two of my least favorite thespians, Frances McDormand (Fargo, Wonder Boys) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia, Boogie Nights), deliver impressive performances. Oscar nominee McDormand turns what could have been a one-note performance - the over-protective Mom - into a multidimensional character. And Hoffman, as veteran rock critic and adviser to William, tunes down his usual smugness to give a fine performance.
The best movies often draw you into their world and allow you to share their characters' fears, loves, sadness and joy. In Almost Famous, we share William's exhilaration as he lives the life of a rock star, and his sadness as he experiences the darker side of life and love. Ultimately, William loses his innocence, but manages to maintain his hopefulness. Like this past year's excellent Billy Elliott, Almost Famous is the rare film that earns its feel-good sentiment by showing us the humor and heartbreak along the way to achieving it.
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Booze it up, so long as you don't relive guitarist Russell Hammond's alcohol-induced leap off a rooftop.
This is potentially solid date material, provided you (men) refrain from making wise comments when William loses his virginity to several women at once.
Buy this movie from Amazon.com
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