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Cameron Crowe's eagerly awaited follow up to1996's Jerry Maguire
confirms his status as one of the more interesting writer /
directors around at the moment. While it lacks the star power
and obvious popular appeal of its predecessor, Almost Famous
is one of those cleverly heartwarming movies that is likely
to get better with age.
Almost Famous tells the story of 15 year old William Miller's
(Patrick Fugit) who gets the chance to tour with (fictional)
70s rock band Stillwater and write an article for Rolling Stone
magazine. For budding rock critic William this is like a dream
come true. For his mother Elaine (Frances McDormand), it his
her worst nightmare come true. For Stillwater's lead guitarist
Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) it is a chance for the band to
manipulate the young writer into making them look good. For
William's mentor Lester Bangs (Philip Seyour Hoffman) it is
important to not make friends with the musicians. And for professional
groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), William is just a diversion
from the real business of 'inspiring' the music.
One of the marks of a well written film is that it works on
more than one level. On the surface this is a funny story about
a kid getting to hang out with a rock band. But because this
is also a semi autobiographical tale (Crowe himself travelled
with The Allman Brothers as a 15 year old) there are deeper
themes coming through as well. There's the conflict between
being a critic an being a fan. There's an examination of the
self important role of rock and roll groupies. There's the behind
the scenes look at what keeps a band together despite the arguments
and personality clashes. There's the question of how over protective
a parent should be. But most of all, Almost Famous is the story
of a teenager's coming of age. It is about William being given
advice by everybody and eventually learning to think for himself.
The acting is mostly pretty good with Hudson and McDormand
in particular deserving their Oscar nominations, while Hoffman
once again produces a superlative supporting character. The
music, as well, adds to the atmosphere with an impromptu bus
performance of Elton John's Tiny Dancer being one of several
highlights. One of the only flat points in the movie is the
scene in the plane, which although supposedly based on a real
event, is just a little too predictable.
All in all, there's something in this film for just about everybody.
Not quite 'incendiary', but a potential classic in years to
come.
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