Almost Famous

I remember that when I first saw Almost Famous upon its release in 2000, I liked it very much. I liked it even more, I think, watching it again for the first time. What writer-director Cameron Crowe does best is reproduce a time period, 1973, when rock and roll the dominant musical style, as well as a religion. The film abounds in nostalgia, but it also has a heart and, even if you weren't around during the heyday of classic rock, I think you can still feel the excitement.

The story is an autobiographical one. Crowe's stand-in, William Miller (played well by a wide-eyed Patrick Fugit) is a rock-obsessed 15-year-old. He strikes up a friendship with Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the editor of Creem magazine, and gets some writing jobs. He is contacted by Rolling Stone, and Fugit, having met the up and coming band Stillwater, suggests a story about them. Rolling Stone hires him to cover their tour, not knowing he's just a kid.

Back at home, Fugit's mother (Frances McDormand), who has old-fashioned virtues (she throws out a Simon and Garfunkel album because she's sure they're on pot) allows him to go, having already driven her daughter (Zooey Deschanel) away. She's nervous, as she should be, given the rather lax morals of those in rock and roll. But he is accepted by the band, warily, as they realize he is "the enemy," but take him under his wing, as do a group of teenage girls, who declare they are not groupies, but "Band Aids."

These girls are led by Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who has a relationship with Stillwater's lead guitarist (Billy Crudup). Fugit has the adventure of his life hanging around with all of them as they head from city to city on an old bus. He sees everything--when Crudup attends a party at kid's house in Topeka, takes acid, and jumps off the roof into a swimming pool--or when the band, on a private jet, encounter violent turbulence and see fit to confess all their sins.

In addition to capturing a time period (the costumes and sets are so evocative) the film also digs deep into the characters. The screenplay is just about perfect, and that springs from well-developed characters. While Fugit, who is just a kid, is like the eye of the storm, he is surrounded by bolts of lighting. Everyone involved manages to create a world in which they live, from Hoffman to Crudup to Jason Lee as the lead singer, who feels threatened by Crudup's popularity. Hudson, who has never really equaled her performance here, is so touching as a girl who has created her sense of self-worth by living near famous people ("they are more interesting," she says).

But, it's really all about the music. As someone who is a little younger than Crowe, and remembers vinyl records, I get this completely. When Deschanel leaves her stash of records for William, and he leafs through them--The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix--why, it's enough to give a Baby Boomer a nostalgic stroke. And is there any scene that evokes more love of music that the bus ride, with all riders hating each other, breaking out into song to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer?"

Seeing this 14 years later also found me amused at all the actors who had bit parts who are now noteworthy, especially on TV: Rainn Wilson (from The Office), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) and Pauley Perrette (NCIS). Also appearing is a very young Jay Baruchel, as the world's greatest Led Zeppelin fan.