Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous is exactly the type of teen movie that needs to be made more often. Based on Crowe’s experience of getting a chance to write for Rolling Stone magazine at age 15, Almost Famous tells the story of William Miller (Patrick Fugit) and his mis-adventures of traveling with the fictional rock band, Stillwater.Held within the confines of his overprotective mother, Elaine (Frances McDormand), William has skipped two grades and has no friends, in fact, everybody at school hates him. It’s only when he gets a phone call from Rolling Stone that his life changes forever.
On the tour, he meets Russell (Billy Crudup) and Jeff (Jason Lee), the leaders of the band, and Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) one of the “band-aids”. Penny is innocent and naive, she thinks that by sleeping with Russell, he really loves her. Russell on the other hand is quick to trade her in for some booze. When the tour first begins, William is as naive as Penny. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he falls madly in love with her. It’s only when he first hears of her relationship with Russell that his heart is broken.
It’s refreshing to find a teenage character in a film that is both intelligent and realistic. After the recent glut of teen movies about idiots who’s goal it is to sleep with the head cheerleader, I had begun to think that Hollywood really thinks teenagers are morons. William’s goal is simple, he wants nothing more than to write about what he loves: music. By the end of the film, I felt as if I had known William. Hell, I am William, only I write about movies.
At first, the character of Elaine feels like a stereotype, but Crowe develops her into something more, something special and real, a mother that loves her son so much, she breaks down into tears in front of the college class she teaches because she suspects that her son has done drugs and has been abducted by the band. There is an argument over the design of the band’s t-shirts between Russell and Jeff that works so well I was taken over with joy. There are two major reasons why the scene works: Jason Lee can deliver lines of dialogue with the best of them, and the lines of dialogue being delivered never feel scripted. It’s as if we were watching two people we knew well get into a fight over something so small that they'll end up laughing at it later.
The band members all think that the reason they play are for the fans. Yet they yearn after what everybody does, fame and fortune. All they can think about is getting onto the front page of Rolling Stone, as long as William doesn’t write anything too revealing about the band, then he can print anything he wants. William can never get the cooperation of Russell to sit down and do an interview with him though. Russell keeps telling him that there will be time for an interview later on, but soon it’s too late, and William has a deadline to meet. It’s only when William and the band face a near death experience that the truth begins to surface.
Cameron Crowe’s strengths have always been in his writing. In that respect, Almost Famous presents his best work to date. Better than Say Anything, one of the best teenage movies I’ve ever seen. Here, Crowe once again proves that he can tell a simple story that will make even the most jaded of viewers fill up with joy and hope. When Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), William’s mentor and editor of Creem magazine, tells him that he’ll meet girls when he’s on tour, William's face lights up with glee and happiness.
The soundtrack in Almost Famous is perfect in how it allows each song to have a point to the story. There is a sing along to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer in which the entire band, band aids, and William sing together. It reminded me of the Save Me sing along in Magnolia in which it proved to be a pivotal point in the film.
The way Crowe is able to milk a fantastic performance from each actor is a magnificent accomplishment. Fugit actually looks and acts as if he’s 15 years old. Never once do we think we’re watching an older actor portray a 15 year old version of Crowe. Frances McDormand is near flawless as his mother, who calls him daily to remind him to not take drugs. One of the funniest scenes in the movie is when she lectures Russell on bringing her son home safe. The real find here, though, is Kate Hudson, who’s remarkably well in both her dramatic scenes in comedic ones. She’s so good that she’s even been getting some Oscar buzz for this role.
In a year that’s been weak with its number of quality movies, Almost Famous is a near godsend. It presents Crowe at the top of his game, and one of the best movies of the year.
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