Almost Famous is the second Cameron Crowe film I've seen (the first being Jerry Maguire). And it's the first movie in the last several months that was worth full price to see.
William Miller (played by Patrick Fugit) is a high-school student given the chance to write a story about the up-and-coming rock band "Stillwater" (not the actual band in the 70's) after crossing paths with "Penny Lane" (Kate Hudson), a "Band Aid" of sorts. The two will travel with Stillwater cross-country.
As the bus-driven group makes their way concert to concert, William will find out more about himself, the band members and his passion as a writer.
The great thing about the performances in this film is that even though the cast has some notable names (Anna Paquin, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup), all of the characters have a sincerity that is down to earth. The dialogue never runs dry - I found myself always engaged, whether its a dramatic or comical moment.
Some people may feel that this film isn't of their generation, so it might not be very interesting. There are many generational/music references in the film that I might have missed. Despite this, the soundtrack is GREAT and the film can still be fully enjoyed without knowing a thing about the seventies (I'm sure that people who actually lived through music in the early 70s will love this movie).
If there is one thing that I didn't like about the film, it was the in-bus scene after Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) goes through a night of partying on beer and acid - in an effort to bring Russell back to grips from his hangover, the band (one by one) begins to sing a popular song. This goes on for a minute or two and I felt that this is a bit too manipulative of a scene for me...
One cheesy scene doesn't kill this film though. Go see it. I think it's right on the money.
A semi-autobiographical account of how Cameron Crowe got his start in the journalistic world. A young boy is given his first assignment: to cover an u...More at HotMovieSale.com
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