Movies Home / Entertainment Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
Buy your copy from Amazon.com
| Almost Famous (2000)
 
Starring: Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee, Frances McDormand Director: Cameron Crowe Rating: R Category: Drama  |
If you haven't seen Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" yet, head to your local video store right now and pick it up. The film's script is wonderfully written and the cast of virtual unknowns delivers a fantastic performance, making "Almost Famous" one of the best movies of 2000.
Patrick Fugit plays William Miller, a 15-year-old loner in the early 1970s who falls in love with his sister's collection of rock and roll records, much to the dismay of his overbearing mother (Frances McDormand), who believes that bands like Led Zeppelin and Simon and Garfunkel will only lead William to a life of drug use and irresponsibility. He keeps listening despite her wishes, though, and one day William gets a phone call from Rolling Stone magazine. Editor Ben Fong-Torres has gotten his hands on one of the many rock articles William writes in his spare time and, liking what he read, Ben offers William a chance to follow Stillwater, an up-and-coming band, on their current U.S. tour, obviously not knowing his new freelance writer is only 15 years old.
With his mother's "Don't do drugs" mantra continually playing in his head, William sets out on a memorable journey with Stillwater and along the way meets several amazing people, including Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who insists she's a "Band Aide" and not a groupie, and Stillwater's lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), who is constantly struggling with his status in the band and his evolving feelings for the ever-charming Penny Lane.
Fugit, Hudson and Crudup simply nail their respective roles. These three form the inevitable love triangle, as Penny Lane falls hard for Russell, who in turn insists on keeping their relationship strictly on the physical level. Then there's William, who sees his love for rock and roll slowly develop into genuine feelings for Penny and a loose friendship with Russell. All three parts are played to perfection, especially in revealing one-on-one scenes between William and Penny, and William and Russell.
On the surface, "Almost Famous" appears to be a movie about rock and roll and the 1970s, but you'll soon find yourself caring more about the characters than the music. This is a perfect date movie, but with a remarkable soundtrack and the relative lack of irritatingly sappy moments, "Almost Famous" will appeal to guys and gals alike..
~Jamey Codding
jcodding@bullz-eye.com