Review of Almost Famous (2000) by Distant C — 18 Jul 2012

Everything about this movie is terrific. The acting, the story, the soundtrack- everything. It is a seemingly perfect film.

The story follows William Miller (Patrick Fugit)- a 15 year old rock critic/ journalist who gets an offer from Rolling Stone Magazine (after they read his article on Black Sabbath in Cream Magazine) to accompany the up and coming rock band Stillwater on their tour and interview the lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup). Unfortunately Russell doesn't seem to get around to having the interview which gives William plenty of time to learn about the lifestyle of rock and roll unfortunately, Stillwater and their Band Aids aren't as inspiring as he thought they would be.

This movie is truly well written. Cameron Crowe is truly one of the best writers of our generation. He can take a so-so story (such as Jerry Maguire) and write dialogue that makes the movie memorable. But Almost Famous is certainly not a so-so story and whoever thinks it is deserves a slap on the face- yeah that's write I'm writing that in a review- it really captures the pressures of fame and the lifestyle of rock and roll from the perspective of the performers such as Russel and Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee), the Band-Aids and groupies such as Penny Lane (in an Oscar worthy performance by Kate Hudson) and the fans such as William and Vic Munoz (Jay Baruchel) It's a film that takes you back to the 70's and is a fascinating take on celebrity and music and their effects on society. It is a truly wonderful biopic of Cameron Crowe and I feel bad for anyone who loves movies or rock music that hasn't seen this movie.