“Almost Famous” (Directed by Cameron Crowe, 2000)

“Almost Famous” (Directed by Cameron Crowe, 2000)

“One day, you’ll be cool,” Anita Miller (Zooey Deschanel) informs her alienated brother, William (Patrick Fugit), as she walked off to look for America by becoming a stewardess. She bequeathes her record collection to him and tells him that “it will set you free.” Fast forward a couple of years, William is fifteen and continues to remain an outcast among his peers. He has a passion for music and writing and finding a role model in famed rock critic, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), William aspires to write about music. “Almost Famous” is a fun and touching film that captures the heart through its taste in music and sense of time.

“Almost Famous” opens the door into the world of music criticism. Being pulled along on crazy adventures and encountering telling situations about the lives of rock stars, William learns the true struggle of being a veritable journalist. Dubbed “The Enemy” he battles with what it takes to be “honest and unmerciful.” William becomes the guy who “you shouldn’t tell your secrets to.”

Based on director Cameron Crowe’s life, “Almost Famous” is a wonderful story of youth. We meet characters such as Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) and her team of “Band Aides,” whose purpose is much greater than the standard groupie (“‘Groupies’ sleep with rock stars because they want to be near someone famous. We are here because of the music”).They follow the up-and-coming band, Stillwater, featuring dueling leaders Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee).

William meets Stillwater after given an assignment by Lester Bangs to write about Black Sabbath. By luck,  he eventually gets to follow the touring band after being invited to write a piece about Stillwater for Rolling Stone Magazine. (Both of which are unaware of William’s actual age). Much to his stern mother’s dismay(Frances McDormand), she allows him to go along as long as he promises to check in frequently and promises to stay on top of his schoolwork.

The film is filled with moments of tension, love, and passion. Egos clash between Russell and Jeff with band affairs. William’s affections for Penny conflict with her feelings for Russell. The passion for living reaches its high point in the haunting plane scene (cue “Peggy Sue”) where the entire band confesses dark secrets in a moment of tumultuous and crippling  fear of death.

“Almost Famous” captures the essence of what it’s like to be a teenager. It reminds us of the woes of unrequited love, the fears of growing up, and relation to the feeling of “blindly loving some silly piece of music... or some band so much that it hurts.”  No matter what the time period, we can all remember a connection to music. “Almost Famous” is a movie that lights the way for a generation of music lovers and critics alike.