Almost Famous should be remembered for saving the cinema in 2000. Until its release, the box office had been cluttered with the usual action/drama and comedy films, none of which measured up to the caliber of the productions in the previous year. With his follow up to the acclaimed Jerry Maguire, Cameron Crowe ended that trend, writing and directing his next masterpiece.
Amidst a cloud of drugs, music, and never-ending parties, 15 year-old William Miller embarks on an assignment to cover Stillwater, an up-and-coming band, for Rolling Stone. Patrick Fugit plays the film’s dynamic hero, maturing from a seemingly uninteresting, stale teenager into a young man with a bright future and an insight worth sharing, all within a matter of weeks.
Some of this transition can be attributed to life with an “older” crowd, but mostly he flourishes away from his mother’s watchful eye while still practicing the values she was able to instill in him. He is the product of good parenting, a young impressionable mind, and living the life, although for a short time, of mindless, carefree insanity. As viewers, we are envious of his life.
To accompany our hero, we must have his love interest. Penny Lane, acted brilliantly by the beautiful Kate Hudson, fills that role. Her character brings out another side of William, an innocence that is pure and admirable, but is destined to fail. He has a vulnerable and irrational interest in Penny, but we are constantly waiting for the moment when the two will eventually share the screen as a couple.
Billy Crudup stars as Russell Hammond, Stillwater’s confused lead guitarist, who is learning to deal with his fame and coping with a complex lifestyle. Hammond is in constant search for happiness, meaning, and perhaps a little conformity. Some of these he tries to resolve through his relations with Penny, but mostly he turns to drugs. His problems are typical, but are many and stacked against him.
Jeff Bebe, Stillwater’s vocalist, supplies some of this tension against his band-mate. Each are vying for the spotlight, and trying to do so without noticeable taking from the other. The talented Jason Lee gives a noteworthy performance as Bebe, who finally reaches the breaking point over an insignificant T-shirt of the band.
The brilliance of Almost Famous comes through here. After a fight and a night of LSD and partying with young strangers, Russell returns to the band, with a solemn silence that aims to kill. In a glowing scene, one of many in this film, the entire band, along with William and Penny, join together in a rendition of Elton Johns’s “Tiny Dancer.” Symbolically speaking, the band remembers its friendship and true purpose, forgets its trivial differences, and does so through the act of song. It is impossible not to smile at this scene’s powerful simplicity.
There are two scenes involving William and Penny that immediately sparked an “Oscar!” reaction from this reviewer. The first is the night the two met and Penny reveals her ambitious plan to go to Morocco and asks William to blindly follow.
Do you want to come?
Yes. Ask me again.
Do you want to come?
Crowe’s dialogue is marvelous, using a redundant sexual undertone and some great facial action shots, particularly on Fugit, to display affection and longing by our protagonist.
The second scene is on the road during William’s “deflowering.” Crowe’s technique is perfect by slowing the affair and allowing the audience to view each character’s reaction for the proper amount of time. Our two characters meet eyes very intensely; the only difference in this gaze is that William has three girls, who are trying to seduce him, dancing around him, distracting him, and blocking his view. His stare does not falter. Even in his time of “triumph,” he thinks and acts solely for Penny’s purpose, the result being a very similar feeling of happiness and apathy by the viewer.
It is undeniable the importance of Frances McDormand in Almost Famous. She fills her role as Elaine Miller, William’s mother, just as well as she did Marge Gunderson in Fargo, and perhaps even better. She represents the conscience of the film, an omnipotent presence that follows the characters everywhere, even though she rarely leaves the house. She makes an impression on whomever she speaks to, usually over the phone, and does so with a comedy that is appreciated solely by the audience, even though the characters in the movie are “freaked out.” Her dialogue is fantastic and the way McDormand delivers it is masterful. She is the film’s rational glue, holding together reality for her son, who may have otherwise been caught up in the madness he had discovered. This is an amazing performance and possibly the best of her career.
The reason this is a feel good movie is that there is a definite resolution when the credits begin to roll. We see what every character's near future will be and generally all the sub-plot conclusions are appeasing to the viewer.
A supporting cast of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Fairuza Balk, and Anna Paquin only solidify the acting in Almost Famous, working with an almost perfect script. Walking from the theatre, I was able to feel the warmth a film can render, something I have not experienced since Shakespeare in Love or Good Will Hunting. Cameron Crowe scores again.
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