After
enormous success of the movie Jerry Maguire, which he wrote, produced and directed,
Cameron Crowe became big-star famous much, much further than the pages of the Rolling
Stone magazine. Everybody learned that the 43-year old writer started his prolific career
as a very young journalist, landing a gig for Rolling Stone covering the Yes tour back in
the early 70s. And even though Yes is quite different from Stillwater, it is painfully
obvious that his new movie "Almost Famous" is more than pure coincidence. The star of the movie is a wonderful young actor Patrick Fugit, who
plays William Miller, a talented 15-year old writer, smart but way too shy for his own
good. William writes for a local San Diego rock magazine, idolizing famous real-life rock
critic Lester Bangs (another brilliant performance from Phillip Seymour Hoffman, see Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and
dreaming of hanging out with his favorite acts. The dream becomes a reality when he hooks
up with rock band Stillwater, an opening act on a fictitious Black Sabbath concert in
1973. Rolling Stone hires William to follow the Stillwater tour, and his struggle to
remain genuinely honest in the whirlpool of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll begins.
Crowe has been in the rock business long enough to know a
few things about bands, managers, groupies, buses, planes, speakers and microphones, which
makes his script very believable. The setting of endless parties and more or less
controlled substances is just a backdrop for more interesting stories. The one about
integrity of journalism is the real core of the movie. William’s growing friendship
with the Stillwaters guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) threatens to affect his
objectivity, especially when conflicts inside the band ignite. He also has to fight for
his credibility with Rolling Stone magazine, which was also in its infancy, and tries to
overcome the invincible prejudice that he is nothing more than a charlatan, "just a
fan" who was "in for a ride". William is the embodiment of persistence, and
he has had many family values and a lot of common sense put in him by his overly
protective mother (Frances McDormand, see Fargo).
There are no big names in this movie, and the ones I
mentioned are in limited roles, but the rest of the cast carries the movie well. Kate
Hudson is very good as mysterious Penny Lane, obsessed with Stillwater and the rock and
roll lifestyle, and so is Jason Lee, as the singer Jeff Bebe, whose dynamics generate
enough friction for an occasional spark with Russell. The songs for Stillwater were
written by Peter Frampton, who has a cameo, along with "Heart’s" Nancy
Wilson, a real-life spouse to Cameron Crowe, and Crowe himself. Jerry Maguire still
remains Crowe’s best movie so far, but Almost Famous is a warm coming-of-age story, a
well-crafted movie about friendship, love and music. It’s a pretty package, and
should turn a few heads, but its Oscar appeal may still be questionable.