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Almost Famous 2000 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Cameron Crowe
R, 122 min. (profanity, drug use, brief nudity) |
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Starring: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Producers: Ian Bryce, Cameron Crowe
Screenplay: Cameron Crowe
Cinematography: John Toll
Distributor: Dreamworks SKG
Released: 9.22.00 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Director Cameron Crowe, whose previous credits include Jerry Maguire and Say Anything,
brings his unique life experiences to the screen with Almost Famous, which now also belongs in that elite group of films. As a writer for Rolling Stone
magazine in the early 1970s, he was able to cover several big bands, his first coming when he was only
15 years old. The experience was the inspiration behind this movie, and it shows the up and downs of
the rock and roll lifestyle of the period. His relationships with band members and groupies on the road
are almost perfected on the big screen for us, leaving you with an almost euphoric feeling as the end
credits roll.
William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is given an assignment by Rolling Stone magazine (who has
discovered him at age 15 as a talented writer at a smaller magazine) to cover a band named
Stillwater, which is a middle of the road band struggling to stay afloat. He quickly meets a groupie, or
a "band-aid" as she calls it, named Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) who is infatuated with the groups lead
guitarist Russell (Billy Crudup). William had been warned by his former editor Lester Bangs (Phillip
Seymour Hoffman) that the band will try to suck him into their lifestyle to get a favorable story of
themselves in the magazine, but William is skeptical.
He soon learns many of the secrets of the band once he is included in their tour group, and now must decide
whether to use the information or not. He struggles with this decision - to remain professional or to stay
true to his new found friends. It must be difficult to say no to rock stars at such a young age. His
revelations about who he is, his life, and where he wants to go is the central core of the movie. Along
the way, he learns lessons of life when he is involved in a love triangle with Penny and Russell. He is
always just on the outside of the their inner circle, but Penny confides in William several times during
the tour. Of course, Russell is married and will not stay with Penny, so William has to comfort and take
care of Penny when she is dumped by Russell. His true love for her outshadows Russell's, as she comes
to realize at the end of the tour.
Almost every performance in this film is memorable. Kate Hudson's stirring portrayal of Penny Lane should
almost assure her of a best supporting actress nod, although Frances McDormand (who plays William's overprotective
mother) will also challenge for the Oscar. But Hudson's complete control and range of emotions can be
seen in only a simple facial expression, which is a sign of a very good actor. She gives one of the year's
best performances. Billy Crudup is also solid as Russell, a man who must decide to stay with his band or
branch out on his own because he is too talented to stay with a lesser band. This film has the strongest
performances of any I've seen since American Beauty.
Cameron Crowe has another great movie on his hands here, and it will undoubtedly be one of the year's
best films. It deserves a best picture nomination, but it may not have the box-office draw to make that
happen. Almost Famous is one of those movies that no movie-goer should miss.
© 2000 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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