This is a movie that made me wish I was born a little earlier. I was born in the early 70's. And up until I saw Almost Famous, I had no desire whatsoever to be part of the generation that came of age in the early 70's. But in what I can only assume is a classic and authentic depiction of a time when life meant roadtrip adventures and music meant freedom, I admit some regret that I was born in that period and not a teenager discovering it.
Almost Famous is the first film from filmmaker Cameron Crowe since "Jerry Maguire" quite a few years ago. It was worth the wait. The movie contains both an innocence and edge that make it simply enjoyable to experience. It's not a gooey love story like Maguire. It's not a cheesy 70's flick that parades flower girls all over the screen. It's a genuine attempt to capture an era by showing it to us through the eyes of a music loving "uncool" 15 year old named William.
Shaped by his strict mother and raised by suburbia, William learns to express his love of music through his pen. His devotion to rock and roll lands him a cover story writing assignment for Rolling Stone Magazine and before long William finds himself along on a road trip with the band Stillwater. Breaking his mother's heart, he leaves his innocence at home to discover the world. Graduating from high school takes a back seat to the front seat of Stillwater's tour bus "Doris", which takes him through Arizona, Boston, New York and everywhere in between. Along the way, William learns choice lessons about music, love, friendship, and life. Now that last part may sound like a lot of movies. But William learns lessons about music, love, friendship and life from the Stillwater band members and their groupies, and through their perspectives of innocent William do we get pulled into the carefree heart of the 70's.
Everything that makes being a teenager so retrospectively exciting comes out in William's innocence. Fortunately, all of the characters in Almost Famous draw you in and, as in every great movie, there are moments where you're pleasantly surprised to find a smile escaping your face. In short, this movie is just plain touching.
A movie that can capture the essence of an era and pull you into it for two hours is rare, if not impressive. Almost Famous accomplishes this feat in the most painless of ways with the purity and carpe-diem inspirations of an enjoyable adolescent adventure.
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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