Almost Famous

Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie...McDormand, Hudson, Fugit and Cast SHINE!
Review: If you look closely, you can see the arc of Cameron Crowe's films as they mirror his own journey from precocious adolescent (FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, SAY ANYTHING, SINGLES) to successful professional (JERRY MAGUIRE), with music always marking the trail he has taken. Now a successful 40-something, Crowe does what we all do at that stage. He looks backwards, with longing. And so, in ALMOST FAMOUS, he offers us a loving reflection on his youth and the music that lit the way. With this picture, Crowe does the impossible. he makes us nostalgic for the 70s. Somehow, thanks to Crowe, the era has taken on that burnished glow that only memory can endow.

Crowe starts his film with credits... not an unusual technique. Except these credits are being written in pencil on a yellow note pad by a disembodied hand. The hand writes out each name, even misspelling `Frances McDormand' then erasing the error and fixing it. The credits have not even finished and I already love this movie. This in not some generic, Hollywood story, measured and sliced with a cookie-cutter called `market research.' This is a personal story being told by somebody. And a young somebody, to boot. inexperienced, but gamely writing as fast as he can, fixing his mistakes along the way. If the credits are this good, what will the movie be like, I wonder.

Crowe was a teenager who wrote Rock criticism for Rolling Stone magazine in the 70s, before his FAST TIMES adventure. It is that period of his life that provides the basis for the movie's plot.

Cast as the young Crowe is Patrick Fugit. He is Crowe as a decent, nerdy, talented boy (called William), who is barely surviving his loving, overbearing mother. As mom, Frances McDormand is simultaneously unnerving and endearing in her Oscar nominated performance. William's loving but irritating big sister clashes with mom and sis takes off with her boyfriend to become a stewardess. In an effort to save him from mom's influence, sis leaves behind her record collection. That pile of vinyl opens up a whole new universe for William. He is an `un-cool' high school kid, isolated and in pain, father-less, sister-less. but Rock n Roll becomes his world and his salvation.

William becomes a writer, precociously penning music criticism for local papers. He is befriended by the burned-out editor of Creem Magazine, Lester Bangs, brilliantly played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman creates a curmudgeonly mentor for William, a sort of ghost of Christmas-yet-to-be, ranting that `Rock is dead' and providing other such heartening insights, while also giving him a willing ear and an encouraging word. Though based on an actual figure, Hoffman's Les Bangs is an original film creation. a Rock prophet-guru-nerd who, seeing his end in sight as he slouches toward Bethlehem, can't help but try to pass the torch.

William is offered the chance to cover a touring band on the rise (the group a bit preciously named `Stillwater') for Rolling Stone magazine by an unsuspecting editor that doesn't know the kid is only 15. William joins the tour while his worried mother screams to anyone who'll listen that `musicians have kidnapped my son!' She has only let him go because she knows how much he needs this adventure, yet she is deathly afraid of losing her last child. Upon boarding the tour bus, young William/Cameron journeys like Dante into the inferno. He is doggedly pursued by worried messages from mom and accompanied only by his yellow note pad, his long-distance calls to mentor Bangs, and the `Stillwater' family that teaches him about who he is and who he can become. Still waters run deep, indeed.

One of his Virgils is the band's enigmatic guitarist, Russell, brought to vivid life in actor Billy Crudup's breakthrough performance as the Rock n Roll hero with feet of clay. The other is the siren Penny Lane, the beautiful free spirit who, as a `band-aid', acts as both muse and sex toy for Crudup. She is ephemeral and damaged, living in devotion to the music. Of course, the Russell-Kate-William triangle is an eternal one, resulting in pain and growth for all concerned. Kate Hudson's Penny Lane is a magical character, and it's a star-making performance, worthy of her Oscar.

But the key, supporting player in Crowe's tale is the music. There is a moment in the movie when everyone is on the bus, and it has been a long, bad night. Emotions are frayed. The mood is fragile. Elton John's song `Tiny Dancer' is heard and, one at a time, everyone starts to sing along. Music heals. Families can injure, but they can heal, too. Like his earlier films, music is the heart and soul of this film, both in the dramatic moments and concert scenes, dramatizing the effect on both the players and the audience as together they create, for a moment, a surrogate family for all who need one.

It seems at first a small story to build a movie on. Nothing blows up. The sex is mostly off-screen. Like all of Crowe's other pictures, ALMOST FAMOUS is a character study in the coming-of-age genre. But, when seen through the context of his career to date, you realize it's about Crowe coming of age, as much as the characters in the film.

Unlike film-school filmmakers, Crowe doesn't make films about films. He makes movies about life. And so, he tells stories about us. They are stories worth telling and he tells them wonderfully well. Like all of Crowe's other films, ALMOST FAMOUS is a tale both personal and universal. It made me reconsider the era I grew up in, and the person I was then and am today. goddamn him. That's the power of a great storyteller and, make no mistake, Crowe is perhaps the foremost auteur of his generation.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet, nostalgic rock n roll
Review: This movie is a must to view more than once--there are nuances that might be missed with the first viewing. Though the subject is set decades ago, Almost Famous has a fresh, 21st century slant to it. The scene in the plane is just too hilarious to describe!

Rating:
Summary: Excellency in film-making, DVD production
Review: This DVD has left my utterly speechless. It is so good, the extra's so in-line with the movie, the menues so fitting, and the commentary so entertaining that I can't say enough good things about it. But let's start with the movie itself.

There are two version of the movie included here. The original "theatrical" release, which is roughly 2 hours, and the "bootlegged" extended release, shown here for the first time. This version of the movie adds 40 minutes worth of scenes. Both versions are excellent, but since the "bootlegged" release (or "untitled", as it's called) is simply more of what made the original so good, the same comments can more or less be applied to both. Note that the "Untitled" version is ultimately far superior, but if you haven't seen either you will be just as well off (if not better off, for that matter) watching the shorter version first.

It would be easy to describe Almost Famous as a time-piece, "a movie about Rock and Roll". And while it certainly is that (a movie about Rock and Roll), the connotations that come with such a description would limit the emotional power of this film drastically. It is just as easily a movie about family, a movie about love, a movie about money, and a movie about music in general. What ties this all together is, for lack of a better word, "magic". Sure, I could go in and analyze what makes this "magic": the cinematography (by mastermind John Toll) that makes a movie about Rock and Roll seem like a historical epic. The aching music, compiled (and at times even scored) by director Cameron Crowe and his wife. The innocent yet extremely subtle acting. Sets and costumes that are so good you quickly forget you are watching a movie. This "magic" is demonstrated in any number of emotional scenes; it is what ties the movie together, holds it on-course, helps it maintain it's vision.

In one of the best composed scenes in the movie, the band has just talked to a new manager who wants them to hire him. He represents everything that was going wrong with Rock & Roll in the early 70's (and indeed still today): bands loosing touch with thier fans/roots, sacrificing art for money, popularity over content. After he leaves, there is an uncomfortable silence. Finally the drummer says, "I miss him already". The scene cuts to Penny Lane, our main "groupie" in the tale, dancing over the stadium of what was but a night before a concert all. In the background we hear Cat Stevens achingly singing "The Wind". The magic and energy of the concert that is now gone, part of the past, can still be felt in the air. Penny literally dances with it. The contrast between the band selling out and Penny, thier biggest fan, basking in the bliss of what makes music so powerful, is moving beyond words. Even if you have never had any interest in rock (or music, for that matter), you will still be appreciate how real some of these scenes are. Cameron Crowes eye for detail is at times frightning.

The extras on the DVD are really nice, and since half the fun is discovering them yourself I'll leave that to you. The commentary is worth noting, however. It is between Cameron and his mother, Alice. It is easily the warmest Commentary I have ever heard.

In short, this is highly worth the price. In my opinion really a standard for how DVD's aught to be made.

Rating:
Summary: Terribly hollywood: glossy; unreal
Review: This movie is as slick as candy. Nothing real, nothing touching ... very hollywood. If you know what I mean by that, and don't like hollow films, you won't like this one. You can't get those two hours of your life back. Cameron Crowe cannot deliver reality.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST
Review: ~Set in San Diego in the early 1970s, Almost Famous subtly introduces the element of rock'n'roll music as a venue for freedom. Finding moral support in the lyrics of Simon & Garfunkel, 18-year-old Anita (Zooey Deschanel) rebels against her conservative mother Elaine (Frances McDormand). Deciding to leave home, she urges her younger brother William to let himself be influenced by the music of the era. Over the years, William (Patrick Fugit) develops an interest and befriends legendary music critic~~ Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman: Flawless, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley), who asks him to cover a Black Sabbath concert for "Creem" magazine. His article earns the mature-sounding 15-year-old an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to join the more accessible "Stillwater" band and interview lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) during their "Almost Famous" concert tour. Postponing his obligations at school and at home,~~ William develops emotional ties with the band and with the coquettish groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), and discovers the contradictions of being a subjective journalist.

Almost Famous constructs its plot with effective time constraints which create suspense and establish the film's sense of humor. This is explored within the arena of William's responsibilities toward his editor (who thinks the writer he has hired over the phone is much older) and his mother (who wishes her boy is mature~~ enough to resist peer pressure and drugs, but young enough to obey her). Both the editor and the mother, who require that William constantly check back with them and who impose deadlines (to submit the article outline or to return home), communicate with the protagonist via the phone throughout most of the film. Still, rather than interrupt the boy's tour/trip with the band, the editor/mother interludes emphasize the main character's inability to escape from duty. The comedy rises from~~ William's efforts to be seen as a free adult --a status the band members claim to have reached-- while he struggles with his evident inexperience. Never quite reaching a dramatic point, Almost Famous maintains a comfortable level of seriousness as it explores the main character's doubts and decisions in relation to his role as "The Enemy", or the critic who "writes what he sees." Not letting his perceptions be influenced by the illusion of friendship, nor letting them deny the validity~~ of his subjective reality, the protagonist finds freedom in those attempts that "almost" fail or "almost succeed". In this sense, Almost Famous finds a temperate --almost happy-- middle ground in its treatment of such commonly temperamental issues as sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Special Edition DVD Release: December 4th, 2001 (as Almost Famous: Untitled) Cameron Crowe spoke at length with The Hollywood Reporter about it: "The DVD version is a whole cut of the movie, a different,~~ fatter cut. It's about two hours and 45 minutes, something like that, and it has the full Stillwater [...] concert stuff. It has Frances McDormand's character, Elaine, listening to [Led Zeppelin's] "Stairway to Heaven" in its entirety, and you at home have to put on "Stairway to Heaven." The DVD version of that scene will just have the longer version, because Led Zeppelin will never sell the rights to "Stairway to Heaven," you at home get to supply it from your own music~~ collection."

Also there are 2 hidden extra scenes where Kate Hudson and Patrick are doing the bus scene over and over again. Another cut scene is where Kate says the name "leslie" over and over again, for literally 5 minutes.~

Rating:
Summary: Terrific Depiction Of Sixties Rock Scene!
Review: It is an old literature axiom that all good fiction is autobiographical, meaning of course that among other things, writing believably and well about any subject requires not only knowing something about it but understanding it as well. That this idea has merit is substantiated by this remarkable period piece both written and directed by Cameron Crowe. As he did in his quite captivating original screenplay for "Fast Times At Ridgemont High", he mines his personal background with an uncanny ear for realistic situations, dialogue, and personal experience to pull us deep into the quirky and sometimes surrealistic world of sixties rock

The protagonist of the film is a teen-something reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, and like Crowe, has an eyes-wide-open view of everything swirling around him, from sex, drugs and rock and roll to all the happenings associated with the rock and roll lifestyle itself. One finds William (newcomer Patrick Fugit) sucked into the vortex of a fictitious rock band's pulsating experience, and the moment to moment happenings surrounding Stillwater are so realistic, believable, and palpable that we roll along with it all, finding too much to remember from what we recall of the sixties. Also excellent are the ensemble of supposed Stillwater rock musicians, from Billy Crudup to Jason Lee, and the very lovely Kate Hudson showing her future potential as a leading lady in a powerful and convincing role here.

This is the closest any of us are likely to come to living vicariously in a rock and roll band. The fact is that Cameron Crowe actually did experience a lot of what goes down here himself as a sixteen year old reporter, and the verve and energy in the film owes to this authentic recollection of those times, and to his uncanny ear for all the elements of the rock scene. This is a terrific movie, and although it is fiction, is also quite representative of the times it purports to describe. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A film that gets better and better with repeated viewings.
Review: There's little I can say that hasn't already been said by multiple reviewers.

Almost Famous is now one of my all time favourite film's. Cameron Crowe's screenplay is a beautiful thing. Very funny and deeply moving.

Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Kate Hudson are all terrific.

How Crowe could follow this up with the terrible Vanilla Sky is still one of the biggest mysteries of modern cinema.

Rating:
Summary: The Death of Rock and Roll
Review: Almost Famous is a great film for many different reasons. The acting is spectacular, with almost every actor and actress delivering solid performances. The story is emotional and personal, giving insight into who these people were that decided to leave regular life and go play in strange parts of the country. The filming and pace are spot on, building scenes into memorable occurences. The script is a masterpiece, written by people who understand that movies are based on words not on image. With all that, how could Almost Famous have any other monumental attributes?

Well, Crowe, in his genius, managed to give one. The movie describes the times (early 70's) and the music atmosphere of the country in the style of critical documentary. Leading the charge in the ideological crusade against bad music is Hoffman's character, who delivers a performance definetly worthy of an Oscar. He's a semi bitter man who understands that the dream of rock and roll as grass roots poetry hive is quickly dying, with the introduction of mass commercialization of the industry. The bands are promised planes, new deals, anything that will help them sell out. Crowe obviously remembers this golden age, and decries its destruction.

The crassness and business side or rock and roll is expressed with Kate Hudson's character, Penny Lane. Hudson definetly deserved the Academy's recognition. She's one of the last believers, Stillwaters' biggest fan. Yet, when the money starts flowing and the world turns in their favor, the band dumps her like she was nothing.

A wonderful film.

Rating:
Summary: A coming of age
Review: This film is good on many levels. Overall, I think the film gives us the image of coming of age, reaching that understanding of who we are and where we want to go.

On one level, there are the three main characters who all must come to grips with the life they think they are living and the life they need to live. The main character, William, is an uncool rock journalist. He is younger than other kids in his grade at school, and probably too young to travel with the band. He believes he is cool because that is how the band makes him feel. After submitting his story, he begins to realize that what he thought about himself was not true. His mentor helps him come to the realization.

Penny Lane, the Band Aide, must also grow as a person. She has her idealized life, but doesn't understand her place and importance. After finding out that she has been "traded" and having William attack her dream of a far-off land, she realizes that she must move on.

Russell, the guitarist, is trying to understand his place in the band as the leader and as a better musician. He thinks that he will have what he wants with no repercussions. He hurts Penny and thinks that he can correct this. Her getting him with William shows him that he has responsibilities as a person and musician.

On the next level, the rock band, Stillwater, is the quintessential band coming at the end of a generation of musicians. The life they want is no longer there; the scene of rock and roll is progressing, and they must learn to adapt. The idealized notions they have will hit the wall once they hear of the article on them. Afterwards, they must mature to continue.

This is a fine movie, and I would highly recommend seeing it. It is witty and serious at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I loved this movie when I saw it at the theater. I also had a lot of questions about the story and the characters. Crowe answers all in the bootleg dvd. The uncut version of the film is excellent and explains the relationship between Penny Lane and Russell much better. Excellent entertainment and I highly recommend it to any fan of Kate Hudson's or Goldie Hawn.