A Retro Review of Almost Famous (2000)

    

    "Music, you know, true music - not just rock 'n' roll - it chooses you."

    Almost Famous embodies the highs and lows of stardom in a way that few others do. Superstars are fragile, and most of them are only looking out for themselves. Even the managers steal in secret and insert themselves among the elite whenever possible. And then there are the uncool, the regular people who see art from a distance. For some like Frances McDormand's character Elaine, rock 'n' roll music is just a platform for debauchery without substance. For Zooey Deschanel's character Anita, music holds meaning and helps explain inexplicable moments in life. In between these extremes, there is Patrick Fugit's William Miller, the protagonist of this story. He is intoxicated by the music and the world that his heroes have created. So much so, that his goal is to make a living off of it.

    Where this film truly excels is the humanity that Cameron Crowe brings to all of these characters, whether they are rising rockers or just journalists. This film absolutely deserved the Best Screenplay Oscar at the 2001 Academy Awards. Crowe creates such a believable and lived-in world with the fabricated up-and-coming band Stillwater. Every member of the band shines through their humor and passion. At the same time, there is a darkness looming under the surface of this film that Crowe cleverly hides. It's commonly understood that the rock stars of the late sixties and early seventies constantly engaged in illicit and unsavory activities. The film instead focuses on the personalities front and center because everything is from the perspective of our fifteen year old protagonist. We only see what he sees, and the rest is left behind closed doors in both the literal and metaphorical sense. This perspective is what allows the movie to avoid being another simple story about the corrupting nature of fame. 

    Billy Crudup steals every scene that he's in, playing a conventional rock star character with very unconventional character development. Much of the film is shot in close ups, including many intimate moments that ground even the biggest personalities in the movie. While Crudup, Jason Lee, and Kate Hudson in particular, pull off career-best performances in this film, not all the performances live up to the complexity of the text. The aforementioned Deschanel goes big for her short amount of screen time, which unfortunately derails one of the last major emotional beats in the film. Patrick Fugit, on the other hand, is given a massive task by being the inexperienced lead of this film and it shows. Since much of the movie is in close-up, his vacant expression makes his character much harder to relate to. In certain emotional moments, he feels distant and the words he speaks sound more like a screenplay than a human being. Where a lot of this film truly comes alive is in the supporting cast and cameos, of which there are so many. The best of the best include a young Jay Baruchel, Terry Chen, Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family fame, a very angry Marc Maron, and of course the undeniable Phillip Seymour Hoffman. 

    Aside from the fascinating script full of autobiography and anecdotes, the true star of the show is the music. Classic rock blasts over the visuals at a rapid pace, bringing an energy that would be sorely missing from the movie without it. With Crowe's background as a music journalist, he pulls well-regarded hits and exciting deep cuts for essentially every scene in this film. The music is a character all on its own, as it means so many different things to all of the characters. Presenting all of this music with this grimy world as the backdrop invites every viewer to examine the art in different ways. Is this pure entertainment? Should we analyze what a specific song means or should we just let the sounds of the drums and guitars wash over us? 

    Almost Famous is equal parts entertaining and complex. While not every actor is game for the challenge, the writing and music set the stage for a truly unique film experience that only Cameron Crowe knows how to provide. There's a reason why this film lives on today and has emerged on the Broadway stage, but that's for a different kind of article. 

   Almost Famous: 4/5, 8/10, B+