Almost Famous

Rating:
Summary: "I'm on drugs!!!"
Review: 4.5 stars. While the script is the actual star of the film, the cast is exceptional as an ensemble and every actor here is worth mentioning at least once. But it's the word-play and the situations that these fine actors find themselves in that propells the film forward. The script is so sharp, in fact, that many times during the movie I felt some of the actors had a hard time keeping up. Don't take that as a negative criticism because screenplays are rarely this well-written with such a huge cast as its centerpiece. It just doesn't come together all the time. I should not forget to mention the outstanding soundtrack, which I'm sure was hand-picked by Cameron Crowe. He is notorious for his films having fantastic soundtracks. "Singles," for instance. I have watched this movie many times and I always laugh and get carried away with the interesting lives of those on tour. This movie has great acting, an exceptional script, and another great soundtrack. This is a journey worth taking.

Rating:
Summary: The best version of my favorite film
Review: This movie is tied with Clerks as my all-time favorite film. I could go into deatil about why this movie is great, but everyone else already has. The characters are wonderfully constructed and easy to identify with, the movie is darkly hilarious, everything about it is great. But why buy the Bootleg Cut, which costs twice as much as the standard DVD? If you're just a casual moviegoer, you wouldn't care about the extra footage, but if you like this movie enough to buy it, you will love the added and expanded scenes. There's about a half hour added onto to movie and it's all worthwhile and meaningful. And in case you're watching it with people with shorter attention spans, it comes with the original version as well. I would recommend this to any Almost Famous fan.

Rating:
Summary: DVD Perfection!!
Review: This movie, along with "High Fidelity," is good to show to anyone who might wonder why music is the central focus of your life! Most people my age (33) stopped listening to and following music when they left high school, but this movie is genius in showing why music still matters and will always matter for myself. The scene where his sister is leaving home to the strains of S & G's "America" is a priceless example of the power songs can have. On this extended DVD, the extra footage enhances an already excellent movie, the Stillwater CD is a sweet touch, and the bonus features, including the commentary, add substantially to the mix. This is one of those DVD's to get lost in for a weekend, a trip back in time to when music really MATTERED, before videos and celebrity stole the soul. Don't worry about the higher pricetag here; every dollar is worth it!!

Rating:
Summary: Wow....I'll say it again...WOW
Review: I had heard from several different sources before I saw this movie that it was stupid and not to go see it, that it was just about some bands and their roadies....I say that is just total BS. This movie is increadible...it's not just about some band, it's about experiencing life, growing up, realizing who you are and axcepting it and what is stupid about that? Nothing, and on top it has some great actors that do a rather fantastic job of make the movie a GREAT movie.

Rating:
Summary: You had to be there!
Review: This movie is a semi-autobiography of how Cameron Crowe (director of Almost Famous) got started as a rock journalist.

It all begins in the Christmas of 1969 in San Diego (complete with the Chimpmunks singing "Christmas Don't Be Late" in the background), where 11 year old William Miller finds out an embarassing secret and his rebellious older sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) leaves home to see the country. She leaves him her record collection with a note "Light a candle while listening to Tommy and you will see your future." Cut to 1973, William (Patrick Fugit) turns 15 and aspires to interview some rock bands, with his semi-understandably protective mother (Frances McDonald) as the reluctant chauffer. Here he befriends the charismatic "band aid" Penny Lane, whom he naturally grows to have a crush on (Kate Hudson) and the rock band Stillwater against rock critic Lester Bangs'(played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) advice. William and Penny wind up on tour with the band, with William trying hard to get interviews with each member with little success. Lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) is in love with fame ("Make me look cool, man!") and Russell the guitarist just wants everything to be "real, man!" Based loosely on the adventures of the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppelin ("I'm a golden god!"), William sees the rise and near falls of Stillwater firsthand. Meanwhile, Mrs. Miller wants her son William home. "Rock stars have kidnapped my son!" she exclaims, while attempting to teach college students.

Then, of course, there's the music- The Who's "Sparks", Simon and Garfunkel's "America", The Guess Who's "Albert Flasher", Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", Stevie Wonder's "Cherie Amour", Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", Yes' "Your Move", Deep Purple's "Burn" (which came out in 1974), Zeppelin's "Rain Song", "That's the Way" and "Tangerine" and closing with the Beach Boys' surrealistic "Feel Flows."

If you really liked the movie, I cannot recommend The Bootleg Cut enough. In addition to the movie (both the director's cut and the cinema version), there are outtakes (one features William trying to defend that music is art with "Stairway to Heaven" in which you provide the musical soundtrack yourself!), the Stillwater concert in its entirety, Cameron Crowe's comments on some of his favorite albums of the 1970's, some of Crowe's interviews with Zep, Fleetwood Mac, Allman Bros and a CD of Stillwater's songs (written by Peter Frampton, Nancy Wilson and Cameron Crowe). Last but not least is an introspective commentary given by Mr. Crowe (with support of his mother!). If you liked classic rock and have yet to see Almost Famous, to paraphrase a line from a Stillwater song "you have to be there!"

Rating:
Summary: marijuana possession
Review: Isn't funny-after seeing this movie-that art garfunkel was found with marijuana(pot)possession in his limo at an airport on jan17th. I thought it was. She was right, they were really on Pot. Always listen to your Mom.

Rating:
Summary: A phenomenal movie
Review: "Almost Famous" is one of the best films that I've seen in a long time. Cameron Crowe masterfully comes up with a semi-autobiographical story about a boy named William, who gets the ultimate chance of a lifetime: go on tour with a rising rock band, and write about it for Rolling Stone Magazine. On his adventure with the band (Stillwater), he meets people that change his life completely and help him come of age. The movie is funny and moving at the same time, and if you're a music freak, than I think that helps make the experience even better. Besides having a perfect cast, the soundtrack is also great, featuring songs by Elton John, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and many others. Buy it, it's awesome.

Rating:
Summary: Should be in many moviegoers' Top 10
Review: 'Almost Famous' is one of the most reviewed products on Amazon.com -- 463 at the time of writing this. And that should come as no great surprise. The movie is about a fan who writes reviews and makes it big. How close is that to the aspirations of Amazon reviewers?!

'Almost Famous' was written from the heart, coming largely from Cameron Crowe's own experience. Having toured with Led Zep and the Allman Brothers, and ended up marrying Nancy Wilson from Heart, Crowe seemed pre-destined to conjure this masterpiece. It is hard to imagine him ever bettering this work.

Without bettering the original theatre release, the Director's Edition gives us an extended glimpse into the lives of the characters, and introduces us to a few more, such as the stoned DJ who slumbers during his interview with Stillwater. These extra 35 minutes are the main bonus, if, like me, you already have the single-disk version.

There is a 'B-Sides Featurette' which frankly is a shamble, as Crowe admits, although it ends in rock video style with a Stillwater sung this time by Nancy Wilson.

Crowe's critique of the Top 10 albums of 1973 is lamentable. His selection is OK, even though he overlooks Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' and Steely Dan's 'Countdown to Ecstasy'. But Crowe's explanation of why his top ten were such great LPs is so brief and so anodyne. We would expect rathermore fom a regular Rolling Stone contributor.

Which brings us to the Lester Bangs interviews. Despite slamming into several British bands in these clips -- Roxy Music, Jethro Tull, and ELP -- Lester was a cult figure in the UK in the 70s, through his writings for 'Sounds' and the NME. And actually, in all his observations presented on this DVD, he gets it precisely right: Bryan Ferry was vapid, Jethro Tull never should have included a rabbit in Passion Play, and ELP were emotionally distant.

But ultimately this extended DVD just provides us with more justification for judging it to be a magnificent feel-good film. There are many bits of fantastic dialogue -- e.g. "Of course I'm at home. I'm always at home. I'm uncool." -- without getting bogged down in the argot of the day. "It's all happening" is repeated several times as a signature to avoid ever having to use "Far out" or "Way out" etc.

Where this wins as a feel-good movie is that a lot of smiling goes on. (If this were a movie about a British band, it would be a constant stream of sullen expressions, interrupted by the occasional knife-fight between members of the band.)

And I still think one of the coolest images ever is of the band and its retinue, just after the revelatory electric storm, walking towards the camera in the tunnel at the airport terminal. The lead singer, who looks like a cross between Free's Paul Rodgers and Roxy's Phil Manzanera, has just the right degree of disturbed swagger. It's just so ... cool!

Rating:
Summary: Cameron Crowe's Genius
Review: Almost Famous is one of the best movies ever made period. Cameron Crowe had a very good cast that could support the story so that when you were watching it you felt as though you were being taken back in time to the eighties. The story is that this fifteen year old boy decides that he wants to be a reporter and he follows around a rock band called Stillwater and becomes friends with a "band aid" Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) while on the road Rolling Stone Magazine calls him and asks him to do a story on Stillwater for the cover. However can he break all the rules of friendship just in order to break the story of his lifetime. I would recommend this movie to people who can handle language, sexual dialouge, and some very brief nudity if you don't think that you can deal with that combination then this movie may not be for you also if you really love music then you will probably love this movie as well. I hope that this review has helped you in making a decision about the movie Almost Famous.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best movies 0f 2000
Review: I enjoyed the movie so much on so many different levels I had (and am still having) a tough time figuring out what I wanted to say. I won't try to get too eloquent or elaborate and I'll try to keep things simple.The film, as many Cameron Crowe films are, is about many things. On the surface it's about music and love, but dig deeper and you'll find so much more. I originally thought that I enjoyed the film so much because as a pseudo-journalist myself, I could relate to a lot of the issues as a film. But really, this is a film that everyone can relate to. If it's not one thing, it's another. Kate Hudson does a terrific job of playing the "one who got away" - the first love that everyone's got and everyone thinks back to over a warm beer on a boring day. Frances McDormand was robbed of an Oscar for her role as the loving yet overprotective mother who only wants her kids to grow up right but has them both leaving home at early ages. The scene where she's one the phone with William in the kitchen and after he hangs up she throws the phone to the floor is classic. In fact, there are so many scenes in this movie that are classic - Penny Lane dancing to Cat Stevens in an empty concert hall; a late night conversation between William and Lester Bangs about the perils of being "uncool"; William revealing to Penny how she was "traded" from Stillwater to another band I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.