almost famous
REVIEW
“What is it you love about music?” For most people that question may not be so easy to answer but for Cameron Crowe the answer is apart of his DNA. “Almost Famous” is Crowe’s love letter to the music that has guided his entire life. The story is based on Crowe’s own life of becoming a rock journalist for “Rolling Stone Magazine” at the age of 15. What makes his story so endearing is that it is crafted from something genuine and comes from a place of pure love. We are shown a world we as a culture romanticize…the life of rockstars and we see it through the eyes of a true fan.
This movie is one of my personal favorites because Cameron Crowe wrote this movie from genuine experience and was able to create scene’s that only someone who has truly fallen in love/obsession would understand. There is a scene that embodies this love and that is when William’s (Crowe’s fictional version of himself) sister is leaving home, to get away from their overbearing mother, and she whispers in his ear to look under his bed, she has left him something.
“It will set you free” she says. What he discovers underneath his bed is her records. He sees before him the iconic albums of “The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix, Cream, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and The Who,” and he goes through each one and just stares at the album’s artwork just soaking it all in. He touches each album, traces the images with his fingers and is mesmerized by their mystique just taunting him to discover the music that lies with in. They are becoming part of his identity. These are the albums that will be his foundation. They will become the soundtrack to his youth. They are the spark that ignited the fire and this is a feeling I know all too well.
I can remember this exact moment of discovery in my life but for me it wasn’t music… it was movies. I can remember going to the local video store with my dad and walking down each isle and staring at the VHS covers, soaking them all in, memorizing the actor’s faces, looking at the art and wondering what stories lie inside each box. When I was old enough to bike to the video store alone I would spend hours walking up and down each and every isle. Every isle was another world to explore: horror, action, drama, comedy, romance. I was falling in love. I was obsessed. I read the back of every box and watched every film I could get my hands on and still do to this day. “Almost Famous” brings me back to that exact moment when I discovered the love that has guided my whole life. I was just a kid who discovered a passion that has never weakened. I can relate to Crowe’s obsession but his is story took a surreal turn at a young age and that is the story we get in “Almost Famous.”
We follow William, an average kid raised by his mother played by the pitch perfect Francis McDormand. She has instilled in him a strong moral foundation, a sense of right and wrong and the power to stand up for what he believes and to not conform to social norms. She has taught him to rebel against the system. His instilled rebellion takes a turn she did not see coming when William discovers Rock n Roll. His mother hates what Rock n Roll represents because to her it is the immoral and self indulgent side of rebellion. It isn’t until William meets rock journalist Lester Bangs that he finds a kindred spirit to mentor his love for this music and find his own path in life.
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is the moments we share with one another when we're uncool.” - Lester Bangs
Lester, played by the greatly missed Phillip Seymore Hoffman, is the editor for “Creem Magazine.” He gives young William his first assignment and sends him off into the world of Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll but he tries to give him the roadmap of how to keep a sense of self and integrity in a world where it is so easily lost. Lester embodies the super fan, he is a true believer in the power of Rock N Roll and when we first meet him he has a great monologue that I believe is where the heart of the movie lies.
“Here is a theory for you to disregard, completely. Music! You know true music. Not just Rock N Roll. It chooses you. It lives in your car or alone listing to your headphones, with the vast scenic bridges and the angelic choirs in your brain. It is a place apart from the vast, benign lap of America.”
The music you love finds you. All it takes is lyric or a riff heard off in the distance but it is something you are attracted to for some indefinable reason. The song will find its way into your life more and more. You search it out. You pick up the album from the store. You play it whenever you can. It becomes a part of who you are. Everyone has their own taste in music. “It lives in your car or alone in your headphones…” it has become the soundtrack of your life. It is your escape from the mundane parts of life and elevates those moments to something worth living. Lester understand the power of music and he knows when that power has taken a hold of someone.
Lester sees a good kid in William but he also knows the obsession. He fears the world of Rock N Roll will corrupt his innocence but knows there is no stopping him. All he can do is help guide him. It doesn’t take long for William to discover the reality of Rockstars is not the same reality as it is for the rest of us. They have harnessed the power of music and what it does to the human spirit and with that power they feel like gods. They do what they want, when they want and then they move on to the next city. There does not seem to be any real consequences to their actions and they are living in a permanent vacation. William enters the permanent vacation with the fictional band Stillwater.
The lead guitarist of the band is Russell Hammond, played by the charismatic Billy Crudup, and he is William’s ticket onto the tour. Russel is able to get by on charm and talent. He is cool because things just come easy to him and people are attracted to him for it. William is instantly drawn to him because he is an uncool kid that feels cool in Russell’s presence. Russell didn’t ask for the responsibility of being a role model but being a RockStart it is part of the deal and that is his role to figure out. He doesn’t mean to hurt anyone, he just doesn’t have the strength of character to do what is hard because things have always come easy. It is in his relationship with a groupie that he discovers the pain he able to cause.
Miss Penny Lane is played by the whimsical Kate Hudson. She is the mysterious, lovely and magnetic band-aid, not a groupie, a band-aid. She is there for the music and not to be close to fame. She is the ultimate lover of music. She is a muse. She brings inspiration and love to the musicians she adores and William does not stand a chance against her charms. These two relate on a deep level because they are there for the love of the music and are both drawn to Russell and enter his world where they may not be ready for the consequences.
Crowe took all these ingredients and put them on to the screen and what we were given is something truly special. This is his love letter to Rock N Roll and his youth. He takes the harshest edges from his story and grinds them down with love. There is a genuine admiration and love for the characters and it is through that lens there is such a lightness to this film that makes it so watchable and re-watchable. The soundtrack only adds to the memorable moments that Crowe is able to immortalize on screen. He sets the perfect song to the perfect moment and is able to get across the exact emotion he wants to pull from the scene. Only someone who truly loves Rock n Roll and truly knows the power it holds can create a scene as powerful and memorable as he does. This is a story so surreal and so cinematic it deserves to live forever.
