Almost Famous – Film Review Fridays

We’ve all seen and heard the mad escapades of rock stars. Ozzy Osbourne biting into a live bat onstage, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue sleeping with the wife of Bruce Dickinson (lead singer of Iron Maiden), Eric Clapton challenging George Harrison to a guitar duel over Harrison’s wife, and I’m sure we’ve all seen Billie Joe Armstrong’s rant over 4 minutes. The truth is that no matter how successful a celebrity is, nothing stops them from being just as dysfunctional as the rest of us normies. We’re human, it’s normal to be dysfunctional, but there’s always the danger that a band will become so preoccupied with its status, they’ll forget about the music and damn themselves into obscurity. But it takes an extraordinary band to recognise themselves as artists first and celebrities last and never sacrifice the artistic spirit.

‘Almost Famous’ is a film by Cameron Crowe starring Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson and Patrick Fugit. It’s a semi-autobiographical film based on Crowe’s experiences writing for Rolling Stone as a teenager. The film follows a 15-year-old as he travels with the band Stillwater as they handle the responsibility of keeping morale and a healthy relationship with themselves as they attempt to become famous.

William Miller is a boy who’s had most of his life controlled by his overbearing mother, who only wants what’s best for him. When his sister leaves the family, and her record collection to William, this sparks a new love for music. As he grows as a music journalist, he’s hired by Rolling Stone to cover the ‘Almost Famous’ tour of Stillwater. Over the course of the film, we get to know Penny Lane, a woman who’s followed bands almost all her life and Russel Hammond, Stillwater’s lead guitarist with terrible romantic privileges. As the band starts to degenerate and William struggles to write the article, the veil is slowly cast aside and everyone’s true character is revealed.

Patrick Fugit plays William and does so brilliantly, his baby-face naive expressions perfectly emulate a schoolboy out of his element with so much to risk. His portrayal makes his character so much more easier to identify with, he wants everything to go well but he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings in the process, even if one might need a good talking to. Kate Hudson plays Penny Lane with a gorgeous sweetness it’s hard not to fall in love with her. She knows how much trouble she’s in, but she’s prepared to storm through the gates of Hell with a smile. She’s a cheeky, bubbly woman hiding something that, when revealed, could bring her to her knees. Billy Crudup plays Russel, a man who likes to think of himself as a victim or a legend when it suits him. He’s easily charismatic, letting you believe he cares about people, but he needs to change. Crudup nails every aspect of this, the rise, the fall, the charisma, the manipulation, the good guy and bad guy act. Also in supporting roles is Frances Dormand as William’s mother, Zooey Deschanel as Anita, William’s sister and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs, a music reviewer and one of the only characters featured from real life. We all know Dormand could be the only choice for William’s mother, her stern matriarchal acting is unmatched, her performance here reminiscent of her character in ‘Women Talking’. Zooey Deschanel so naturally exudes positivity in her voice and face, her performance as William’s older sister is so sweet and cheerful, if you removed her character from the film, I believe it would be much more bleak. Of course, I don’t have to justify any performance by Seymore Hoffman. It’s as if we are William, watching Hoffman go through rows of vinyl ratting off his favourites and least favourites with such a dominating love of art, and from that one scene, I am hooked.

Mason’s Top 3 Reasons To Watch ‘Almost Famous’

1. The most heartwarming group rendition of ‘Tiny Dancer’
2. A love letter to rock bands of the 1970s
3. Countless cameos by ‘Almost Famous’ celebrities 

Image Credit: IMDb