Cameron Crow’s Almost Famous is a simply wonderful movie. No other film in recent memory has so beautifully blended comedy, romance, and raw emotion. The performances are sharp and believable, the script is from the heart, and the sights and sounds are top notch.
Almost Famous tells the story of child prodigy William Miller, who, thanks to his free-spirited sister, gets introduced to the wonders of rock-and-roll. His love for music leads him to write for underground papers and local magazines.
When word of his talent gets around, William gets assigned a story for Rolling Stone. His duty is to follow an up-and-coming band called Stillwater on tour.
The movie focuses not only on the trials and tribulations of life on the road with the band, but on William’s search for maturity, identity and love.
William is surrounded by a widely varied cast of characters, all of whom have an impact on his development.
Primary among these is Stillwater’s guitarist and leader, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup). Russell has issues of his own to deal with, including balancing the party-all-night, rock-star lifestyle with his own desires to develop as an artist. Conflicts between Hammond and Stillwater’s singer, Jeff Bebe (the always entertaining Jason Lee) arise over the direction in which the band is headed.
Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) is one of several “band-aides” (they refuse to be called groupies) whoWilliam meets on the road. Penny is an intriguing character that steals William’s heart and becomes his closest confidant. Hudson brilliantly plays Penny Lane; she is simultaneously mature and naive, smart and confused, confident and scared.
Other fantastic performances are turned in by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who plays rock critic (and William’s mentor) Lester Bangs and the incomparable Frances McDormand, who quite believably plays William’s over-protective and loving mother.
Of course, it would be a mistake not to mention Fugiti’s incredible performance as William. The audience can sense William’s personal growth as the film progresses, thanks in large part to Fugiti’s touching and emotional performance in this movie, his feature film debut.
Cameron Crowe wrote and directed this movie, based on his real-life experiences as a teen-age writer for Rolling Stone. Crowe continues his amazing string of well written and directed movies that includes Say Anything, Singles and Jerry Maguire.
Crowe’s love for music shows is evident in this movie’s believably loud and powerful concert scenes and a classic rock soundtrack that is perhaps the best in film history, featuring artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Who.
Crowe’s directing and writing skills, combined with several fantastic performances make Almost Famous the best movie of the year to date, and worthy of an immediate trip to the theater. Oscar nominations seem a sure bet for this touching, funny and thoroughly enjoyable film. A