Rockstars have kidnapped my son!! (Almost Famous (DVD))

Member Name: Dr_Evil

Product:	Almost Famous (DVD)
Date:	13/02/01 (273 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent acting especially from Hudson, a great soundtrack and witty script

Disadvantages: A slightly disappointing ending

Lester Bangs: You CANNOT make friends with the rock stars. That's what's important. If you're a rock journalist -- first, you will never get paid much. But you will get free records from the record company. And they'll buy you drinks, you'll meet girls, they'll try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs... I know. It sounds great. But they are not your friends. These are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of the rock stars, and they will ruin rock and roll and strangle everything we love about it.

This is the advice given to 15 year old rock journalist William Miller as he joins up-coming rock group ‘Stillwater’ on their 1973 tour to write a report for Rolling Stone magazine, and basically this is a perfect summary of the film.

Almost Famous is a superb film which has been described as ‘semi-factual’ as it is based on writer/ director Cameron Crowe’s experiences as a young rock journalist. To describe the genre of the film is very difficult as it crosses between a coming of age drama and a comedy but this description does the film an injustice as it has so much more to offer. It is obvious from watching it that it is very close to Crowe’s heart due to the care and attention that has been put into the script and direction of the movie.

The film starts in 1969 when William is 11 and his older sister leaves home to get away from their overbearing mother. She leaves William her record collection and this starts his love for rock music. The story picks up 4 years later when William has begun writing articles for an underground magazine, which has attracted the interest of Lester Bangs, a writer from Creem magazine. William is offered a small amount of money to write an article for Creem magazine and after numerous attempts to get into a gig he gets in with support band Stillwater after impressing them with his knowledge of the little known band. Wi
lliam strikes up relationships with band groupie, Penny Lane and star, Russell Hammond who invites William to a band party. Rolling Stone are impressed with the article and offer William $1000 to join Stillwater on tour and interview the band for the magazine. It is here that Williams adventure begins.

Although the story is very good it is the acting that really make the film so good. In my opinion, Kate Hudson steals the spotlight as Penny Lane one of the band’s groupies, or ‘Band Aides’ as they prefer to be known, because they follow only one particular band. Penny befriends William who is besotted with her, while she herself is in love with Stillwater’s star singer Russell. Kate, who is the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn, lights up the screen in every scene she is in and has an infectious smile that draws you to her character. I have read that the part of Penny Lane was originally given to Sarah Polley, who starred in Go, and that Crowe even considered scrapping the film when she pulled out. Although I could imagine Polley playing a rock groupie I am not sure she could pull off the other facets of the character as successfully as Hudson does and doesn’t seem to have the same on-screen presence. Hudson was originally cast in the small role of William’s sister and I think the film is so much better with her in one of the starring roles. Her performance has already been rewarded with a Golden Globe for best supporting actress and she has now been nominated for an Academy Award in the same category which I think she has a very good chance of winning.

Billy Crudup, who previously starred in Sleepers, is excellent as the star of the band, Russell Hammond. His relationships with William, Penny and the other members of Stillwater are one of the main features of the film, and it is a credit to Crudup’s ability that there is good chemistry in all of his relationships in the film. Russell is the only band member
who really likes William, as he takes him under his wing and defends him to the other members of the band who regard him, like all journalists, as the enemy. Russell’s relationship with Penny Lane is also interesting as she is in love with him, while he is a married man just out for a good time while on tour. Russell must also battle with an inner conflict concerning the other band members. He has been touted as the one with all the talent and the star of the band, while he feels a responsibility to his lest talented colleagues who have helped him get into this position. Some of the most amusing moments involve Russell, such as when he and William crash a party and a drugged up Russell is threatening to jump off a roof shouting to William ‘If I die, tell Rolling Stone my last words were “I’m on drugs!”’.

Patrick Fugit puts in a good debut performance as 15 year old William Miller, but I feel he is overshadowed by the performances of Hudson and Crudup. William quickly falls in love with Penny Lane who befriends him and looks after him when he joins the tour, but he soon realises she is in love with Russell. William spends most of the film trying to get the key interview for his article with Russell but always seems to be put off by one crisis or another. The relationship between the three is engaging and will keep you interested from start to finish.

The supporting cast is excellent too. Frances McDormand, plays William’s, rock music hating mother to great effect and her constant rants over the telephone to Russell, the groupies, and hotel receptionists are hilarious as she worries constantly over William while he is away. McDormand has many of the funniest lines in the film and has deservedly been nominated for a number of best supporting actress awards for this role. Philip Seymour Hoffman, who filmed his role as William’s mentor, Lester Bangs, in just 4 days, is also very good and Jason Lee, as Russ
ell’s main rival in the band, has some excellent scenes with Russell. Anna Paquin, who won an Oscar for her performance in The Piano and recently starred in X-Men, is sadly under-used as Polexia, another of the Stillwater's band aides.

There are so many good things I could say about the film but if there is one gripe I do have, then it is that the ending leaves you feeling slightly disappointed. Obviously I don’t want to give the ending away here, but in my opinion it is too sentimental and not totally satisfying in the context of the rest of the film.

Obviously no review of a film like this would be complete without mentioning the soundtrack which is absolute class and captures the mood of the film perfectly. The members of the fictional band Stillwater were taught to play the band’s songs, and although they were given some assistance, they come across very well and are believable as a real band. The soundtrack also includes a great range of 70s songs including tracks from Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel and even the Allman Brothers Band who I have heard are the band Cameron Crowe toured with as a young journalist. Although the soundtrack may mean more to people who were buying music in the early 70s, it is very good and I will be trying to track it down soon.

In conclusion, I can’t recommend this film highly enough and it is one of the most enjoyable films I have seen this year, and in fact it was so good that it compelled me to write my first review for almost three months. Almost famous is very entertaining with some brilliant acting, a good soundtrack and a witty script with many great lines and it is a shame that the film has been overlooked in the best picture category for this years Oscars.

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