Almost Famous movie review- A celebration of the 70s rock and roll scene

A coming of age movie set nostalgically in a time half of us never got to experience. 

Director: Cameron Crowe

Writer: Cameron Crowe 

Cinematographer: John Toll

Cast: Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Philip Seymour Hoffman 

Year: 2000

Almost famous is centred on and around the seventies rock and roll scene, where glamour and party behaviour were only a facade for corruption, infidelity, drug use/overdose and obsession with reputation and perception from others. Almost famous doesn't sugarcoat the seventies but rather shows it in its rawest form. Set in 1973, it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming of age of 15-year-old William (a breathtaking Patrick Fugit), an unabashed music fan who is inspired by the seminal bands of the time. When his love of music lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview the up-and-coming band 'Stillwater'. William embarks on an eye-opening journey with the band's tour, despite the objections of his protective mother.

Penny Lane (an angelic Kate Hudson) and William Miller show the youth and innocence involved in this scene; Penny loses her innocence through her exposure to drugs, alcohol and sex, yearning for stardom and wanting recognition from Russel (a remarkable Billy Crudup). Whilst William ventures into the scene as a young aspiring rock journalist hired by Rolling Stones magazine, he goes behind the scenes to find that not everything is put together perfectly and, in fact, is falling apart. He's exposed to the extremities of the party lifestyle with drugs and booze, as well as losing his flower to a group of groupies. Crowe shows how easily innocence is taken and used in this industry, showing itself as important at first but easily thrown away and forgotten by the end of the movie, suggesting that youth does not define a person but only by how corrupt and selfish they are and will become. As we see throughout the movie, everyone uses everyone for something. In the end, Penny is handed over to another band after Russel loses a bet and William's article is deemed false by the band after being fact-checked. Both characters are used at the moment and forgotten about after their run with the band. But not all ends badly. The band finally appears on the front cover of Rolling Stones Magazine after Russel visits William for their final interview, Penny escapes her groupie lifestyle and travels to Morocco like she always used to say she wanted to do, and William's broken family is finally put back together. Although not everything went the way the characters wanted, everything happened for a reason and seemed to fall into place. After all of the chaos and fast-paced lifestyle of travelling on the road, in the end, after leaving it all behind, lives come together again and are fixed. Crowe suggests that these experiences of fame bring you closer to normality, to who you used to be and who you are now, suggesting that fame is not all that it's said to be.

The music is the foundation of this movie. Almost famous outdoes itself with originally written music and intricately picked music from the 70s. The soundtrack is perfect. Music is the heart of this movie; the pulse and the blood rushing through the many plot points, the music keeps this movie alive. This is a movie dedicated to music, a celebration of outstanding 70s rock and pop. This movie makes you feel nostalgic for a time you did not belong in. It transports you to a detailed reenactment of a time long gone in the past. This world of Almost famous is absolutely breathtaking, and the characters are endearing. So much so that I wish I could be transported into its vibrant and exuberant scenery; this is a gorgeously shot and excellently framed film which provides great pleasure to the senses. But I also credit the actors for creating entertaining and whimsical characters which represent so many different parts of rock and roll, the fans, the performers, the money makers etc. In the end, you love them all, even if some of their actions are a little questionable. 

Almost famous finds itself as a detailed coming-of-age movie done right. Director Cameron Crowe has crafted an excellent movie honouring the seventies rock and roll scene, a movie that should not be missed. I would highly recommend it. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Favourite quotes: 

“Do you have to be depressed to write a sad song? Do you have to be in love to write a love song? Is a song better when it really happened to you? Like “Love Thing,” where did you write that and who was it about?”

“Look at this—an entire generation of Cinderella's, and there’s no glass slipper.”

“What am I doing? I’ am telling secrets to the ONE guy you don’t tell secrets to.”

“It’s all happening.”