Stillwater, the best band there never was? (Almost Famous (DVD))

Member Name: litebite

Product:	Almost Famous (DVD)
Date:	19/10/01 (1216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great cast., Fantastic story

Disadvantages: Perhaps not for everyone

Almost Famous is a brilliant escapist flic for anyone who wished he/she was in a rock band, or indeed a groupie. Director Cameron Crowe supposedly based the story on his own experiences as a young music journalist in the 1970s. It will inspire anyone who has a classic LP to dig it out and spin it again, and will surely bring more than a pang of nostalgia for those who were around at the time.

Set in 1973, Almost Famous is in many ways a conventional 'Coming Of Age' story. A teenager experiences his first taste of drink, drugs and sex and emerges as a mature and rounded adult. What make this telling different is that all these experiences occur whilst the boy is on your with a rock band. William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is a boy whose offbeat upbringing isolates him from his peer group. His mother (Frances McDormand) is determined to indoctrinate him in high culture. (French cinema, art, etc). His sister escapes to become an air hostess and leaves William her record collection, the key to another world. When William first puts on 'Tommy' by The Who he is instantly addicted and his life as a music fanatic starts. He resolves to rebel against his mother and be a music journalist. He hangs around outside his local arena praying to be allowed admittance backstage. Eventually his knowledge and determination pay off as up and coming band 'Stillwater' and their gang of groupies invite him into their world. The rest you'll have to watch for yourself, I'm not going to spoil it!

Almost Famous works because it combines a serious overall story (rites of passage) with a humourous approach to its general subject. (rock n roll) It helps that 1973 rock music is an easy target for ridicule. This was a worrying time for the world and for music. (It's set in the same year as The Ice Storm) Post-Beatles rock had descended into long guitar solos, longer hair and overblown theatrics. This was the birth of prog rock and Stillwater appear
to be an amalgam of many of the bands of the time. (Led Zep and Free are two that spring to mind) Their constant feuding, gruelling travel schedule and hedonistic life style some up rock n roll for the audience, well at least this member. The set-pieces recall This is Spinal Tap, but this is a much less satirical film and much more of a love letter to music. This makes the comedy moments much funnier than they would be when placed in a straight satire. The phone calls William makes from the band hotel to his mother, the singalong to Elton John on the bus and finally the plane ride during the storm will all live long in the memory.

Of course to make such a film work the acting has to be first rate and all of the cast are superb. Kate Hudson has gained all the headlines for her part as the chief groupie, or band aid as they prefer to be called, Penny Lane. But although she is very good hers is an ostentacious role, designed to steal the show. The band were excellent, especially Billy Crudup and Jason Lee as the feuding front men. Incidentally Brad Pitt was originally slated to play Crudup's character, which would have completely unbalanced the film. As it is the two actors combine a perfect sense of joy in being in a successful band with a thinly veiled lack of self-confidence and a fear that they may lose their fame overnight. McDormand, of course, is brilliant as the neurotic mother. But it is Patrick Fugit who is the star of the film and it is his performance that stands out above all others. He is a supergeek of course, but he is so earnest and passionate about his work that we will always side with him and identify with his wonderment in discovering such a different world.

I think Almost Famous will appeal to both music fans and those for whom a classic is 'One For Sorrow' by Steps. It's about leaving home, breaking the parental bond and of course discovering in the end that this bond is unbreakable, that how ever many friends yo
u make or life-changing experiences you have, your sole constant will be your blood relations. The soundtrack is perfect, with obscure rock classics such as 'One Way Out' by The Allman Brothers sitting nicely with forgotten gems such as 'Tiny Dancer' by Elton John. It would have been easy to load the film with more famous rock tunes, but the choice of soundtrack would bring back more memories for those that were there than any of the clothes or hair. The highest compliment I can give Almost Famous is that it is the best modern music film made since This Is Spinal Tap.

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