Almost Famous

"Never take it seriously, you never get hurt. Never get hurt, you can always have fun. And if you ever get lonely, you just go to the record store and visit all your friends." -Penny Lane(Kate Hudson)


Almost Famous was once a movie I saw on a shelf at Wal-Mart in the aisle separating the housewares from the entertainment center. I had 2 or 3 copies of "Tiny Dancer," (Elton John's original, Ben Folds' cover, and Dave Grohl's *ouch*-bless-his-heart-he-went-for-it cover) that was made legendary in a brief 2 minute clip.

Did I watch it as soon as I got home?

The answer is.....no.

But I have finally seen it, and it's definitely a must-see. Almost Famous centers around a high school student named William Miller(played by unknown Patrick Fugit) who is asked by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with rising rock n roll band Stillwater, and write a story about them.

The movie is basically a re-telling of director Cameron Crowe's(Jerry Maguire, Say Anything, Fast Times At Ridgemont High) storied teenage years. For he was Rolling Stone's youngest contributing editor and was indeed sent with many bands on tour to get their stories. (read: Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, Peter Frampton) In this DVD, Crowe's articles are included in the extras section.

Almost Famous is Crowe's tribute to rock and roll in those years. Stillwater is based off the great bands he had the pleasure of touring with. Lester Bangs--his friend and mentor, was part of the film as well, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman(Patch Adams). Penny Lane (Hudson) was based on a "band-aid" that Crowe was close friends with.

I realized, midway through watching Almost Famous, that I was not only seeing Crowe's life through his eyes(or through William Miller's, I should say)...I was also seeing life from the other character's eyes. By the end of the movie, I understood where the three main characters--William Miller, Penny Lane, and Russell Hammond(Billy Crudup)--were coming from. This wasn't just a music lover's movie. In some ways, it went much more deeper than that...but music was, most undeniably, at the very core of this film.

Cameron Crowe, I salute you.