Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
When I posted that I watched Almost Famous (2000), I had more than a few coworkers and friends reach out to me saying that it was one of, if not their favorite movies. Someone even called it the perfect movie.
“A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.”
Director: Cameron Crowe
Writer: Cameron Crowe
Cast: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin
Release Date: September 22, 2000
IMDB
When I posted that I watched Almost Famous (2000), I had more than a few coworkers and friends reach out to me saying that it was one of, if not their favorite movies. Someone even called it the perfect movie.
Did I have any idea I had viewing such a sentimental personal preference for so many before pressing play? Absolutely not. Heading into Almost Famous, the only things I knew about it were that it was its iconic poster with the sunglasses, and the fact that it put Kate Hudson on the map. Otherwise, I was in the dark.
Now, if you are reading this and going: “But Stanko, you didn’t know that this was a semi-biographical of director/writer Cameron Crowe’s life? He actually went through this and its based on his own experience?”
The answer is no. I had no idea. Does that affect how I look and think of the movie after the fact? Sure, a bit. Almost Famous is a good movie without the context, and the added perspective on the way the story was told helps me understand some of the choices that Crowe made when it came to the tone and the story.
William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is a precocious young kid with a passion for writing about the music industry. He gets to meet veteran of the writing industry Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who gives him sage advice to not become friends with the musicians he’s writing about. Funny enough, William’s ability to listen is immediately put to the test.
Courtesy of his young tenacious attitude, the young man is able to ingratiate himself with an opening act band called Stillwater. The young rag-tag group take a liking to William and after the show, lead guitarist Russll Hammond (Billy Brudup) invites him to join Stillwater in Los Angeles. The one condition is that Penny Lane (Kate Hudon) should come along.
Penny Lane is a member of the Band-Aides, who are a group of girls that would never call themselves groupies, but rather music enthusiasts. Penny Lane and Russell have a connection, but it’s a sparky on-off love affair that’s anything but stable. The young lady has an intoxicating personality and her rebellious nature helps her convince William to sneak off to LA and see Russell and the gang.
After the high of being with a rock band and viewing the pleasantries of The Riot House, William gets a phone call from the legendary Rolling Stone magazine. The iconic music outlet has been impressed with William’s work, and has no idea that he’s 15 years old. The teenager disguises his voice and pitches that idea to cover Stillwater as a young and upcoming band trying to make it big.
And so it begins. Rolling Stone loves the pitch and they foot the bill for William to travel with the band to various gigs. Over-the-moon with the opportunity, William convinces his mom, played by Francis McDormand, and sets off on a multiple week road trip that permanently changes his perspective on life, love, music and the concept of rock ‘n roll.
Almost Famous uses the young POV of WIlliam to shine a spotlight on the hardships of young fame and the fragileness of egos when they become shaded by success. Russell keeps on putting off his major sit-down interview with William, but the young reporter has more than enough to write about with the drama that centers around the band’s main player. Hammond isn’t a bad guy, but his naivety at navigating his new lifestyle as a recognizable face results in a few poor decisions, one of which directly affects Penny Lane.
As WIlliam’s deadline approaches, it becomes clear that Stillwater is on anything but tepid tides. The high schooler struts into Rolling Stones and delivers his feature, which features everything and anything. The editors are skeptical of it all, and their one-eyebrow raised look seems vindicated when none of the band corroborates the stories in Wiliam’s piece.
Sad, dejected and most of all tired, William trudges home to his bedroom filled with music memorabilia and plants facedown in a pillow. But Almost Famous doesn’t end without an uplifting encore. One final act of kindness from Penny Lane results in William and Russell having one final sitdown. It’s time for the two to finally have the elusive all-inclusive interview.
Perhaps the best praise I could hang upon Almost Famous is that it grabs your attention even if you are not a music aficionado. Even if you don’t know the history of rock and roll, the legacy of certain rock stars or the importance of sticking it to the man, Almost Famous makes the story personable enough to connect to. The characters all have defining qualities that aren’t linked to musical talent or a rhythmic ethos.
The breakout performance of Almost Famous is Billy Crudup and Russell Hammond. Much respect to Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand, who were both nominated for Academy Awards, but it’s Crudup who steers the movie. Hammond approaches relationships from a distance, and yet despite his aloofness, there is an underlying sense that he isn’t a bad guy.
The best scene of Almost Famous is the “I am a golden god!” scene, which has Hammond crying out to a youthful crowd from atop a rooftop while tripping on acid. The moment of vulnerability and exuberance is the one true moment when Hammond is purely being adorned by his fans. There is something to the idea that Hammond is hanging out with a much younger crowd, embodying the emotional maturity he has at the moment when it comes to handling relationships with those he cares about. It takes time to understand how to balance friends, work and aspirations. And imagine when being a rock star gets thrown into the mix.
Almost Famous’s lasting legacy is Kate Hudson as Penny Lane. The optimistic attitude that the brings towards the story and shines on Williams makes her seem like the angelic figure amongst the malaise of improprieties and bad judgment. Penny Lane’s outlook on life is a breath of fresh air to William, and it doesn’t take long for the 15 year old to fall head over heels in a weird sort of love. Almost Famous has the will-they-won’t-they battle between Hammond and Lane, but also the isn’t this cute crush of William on the leader of the Band-Aides.
Both Hudson and Frances McDormand were nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2001 Academy Awards. The other losing nominees were Judi Dench and Julie Walters, and all four of them lost to Marcia Gay Harden from the film Pollock (2000). Have you ever heard of Pollock? If you have, then you are speaking bullocks.
The one Academy Award that Almost Famous did win for is Best Original Screenplay, and it beat out some heavy hitters. Perhaps its steepest competition in the category itself was Erin Brockovich (2000), but Crowe’s work also took down Oscar juggernaut Gladiator (2000), Billy Elliot (2000) and You Can Count On Me (2000).
I wasn’t around in 2001 when the Oscars push was happening, but it’s remarkably easy to see how an award campaign could be built around a semi auto-biographical story about a 15-year-old child getting tossed into a world of art filled with personalities both human and complex. When Almost Famous came out, it was a known talking point that Crowe’s latest film was remarkably personal.
As mentioned at the top, I had no idea this was a biographical piece of work. With that backdrop, I’ll drop my gripe here, and I am almost positive that no one is going to like it or agree with it.
There is almost nothing about William’s writing process in Almost Famous. It’s ludicrous to want, I know, but there is only one scene that shows William struggling to organize his thoughts. That one clip of the young pen-man in the bathroom with post-it notes everyone is more of what I wanted. Give me more phone conversations with Lester Bangs and give me some insight into the authoring part of WIlliam’s brain.
Is that an insane take? Perhaps.
Knowing the mental state-of-mind of Crowe writing this movie makes the personalities in the Rolling Stone offices way more understandable. Those editors are way too patient and frankly, remarkably dumb. The way they come in and run the show reminds me of Johnson & Johnson from Die Hard (1988). The FBI agents treating John McClane’s situation with a macho and self-assured cheesiness matches the vibe of Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen) and all the magazine’s employees.
Almost Famous has a long shelf life. How many 24 year old movies have friends and coworkers coming out of the woodwork to say how much they love it? While there are low moments in William and Stillwater’s journey, Crowe’s screenplay always attaches an uplifting message or a redeeming character moment to change the tone. The long leash of Almost Famous is aided by the fact this movie has a TON of recognizable faces: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Zooet Deschanel, Anna Pquin, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jimmy Fallon, Rain Wilson, Jay Baruchel and more.
While Almost Famous doesn’t rise up to the ranks of personal Mount Rushmore, it’s still a good movie that’s really well made and really easy to watch. Perhaps it’s not rewatchable for me, but one could argue I should give it another shot knowing the context of Crowe’s personal investment.
As of mid-April 2024, Almost Famous is streaming on Paramount+. If you want a great double feature to watch with Almost Famous, go back-to-back with High Fidelity (2000), which is streaming on Hulu.
STANKO RATING: B
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