Review of Almost Famous (2000) by Timothy N — 07 Aug 2015

With good intentions and a strong start, Almost Famous is one of those movies that tries too hard to be inspirational and heartwarming, to the point where it becomes pretentious. Throughout the film, the tone is seen as, "Look at us, we're the 70's, we're quirky and rebellious". It didn't bother me at first, but the tone got VERY old near the end. Particularly with the soft-spoken guitar music playing CONSTANTLY in the background for just about 80% of the movie.

Scenes come and go, somewhat connecting to the plot. It feels like the same 70's nostalgia-fest scenes played over and over with the main character looking disturbed, but with a slighlty different situation each time.

There isn't really a reason to get invested in the characters, due to how poor the character development can be. Especially the love interest, who is just irritating on how cute and bubbly she acts, passing it off as "hardcore" or "rebellious". Along with forcing a half-baked love triangle out of nowhere, that takes a large role near the end of the movie.

The film doesn't invite you into the 1970's, it forces the decade down your throat.