Almost Famous

              STAR RATING

                   INFO

Year: 2000

Running Length: 2:04

Rated: R (language, some drug use, and brief nudity)

Genre: comedy/romance/drama

Cast: Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Frances McDormand, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Director: Cameron Crowe

Screenplay: Cameron Crowe

                                                  REVIEW

"Oh, what a lovely film. I was almost hugging myself while I watched it"

                                                                     -Roger Ebert


Now I don't often start out my reviews with another critics comments, I find the many reviews that do are finding a convenient way to plagurize someone, because they don't have a better thought on the subject...but now I am doing this because that is the situation I am in, I literally couldn't have said it better myself.

I was smiling throughout this whole movie, sometimes grinning ear to ear, it is so well constructed, so great, so enjoyable it almost hurts. This film is possibly the most enjoyable fillm that I have ever seen. I know that is a bold statement and I never thought it would be such a recent film (most films in 2000 have blown). This is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best film so far in 2000, and I wouldn't be suprised if it was still number 1 at the end of the year.

It is about a 15-year-old writer named William Miller (a thinly veiled Crowe as a young man) who writes rock reviews for his local paper, he has been sending them to Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) a real life reviewer for Creem magazine.  Bangs apprenty send them to Rolling Stone who not knowing William is 15, and offers him a job. His first assignment Stillwater an up-and-coming rock band who opens for Led Zeppelin and other bands more popular than they are.

Stillwater is made up of Russel Hammond (Billy Crudup) the "lead guitarist with mystique", who is suprisingly intelligent, but often careless. Jeff Bebe (the great Jason Lee) the jealous lead singer. And two real life musicians as the drummer and bassist. There are also the groupies or as they call themselves "Band-Aides"  who factor in a big part in the band, and in the life of William. They are Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) the beautiful, charming leader of the Band Aides, Polexia (Anna Paquin) a good character we don't see enough of, and Sapphire (Faruza Balk) a girl who sees the new gang of Groupies as pathetic, and who steals Williams virginity. They all come together to make up a close-knit little dysfunctional family, their group reminded me of the porno filmmakers in Boogie Nights.

I literally fell in love with this film and it's characters, and I owe that to Cameron Crowe and the very talented cast. Kate Hudson creates the best female role of the year, and one that is unquenchably lovable, and charming. Billy Crudup who I have admired in many smaller movies here becomes a star in front of your eyes. Jason Lee who is a God among contemporary actors does his first major role in a big film, and it may even get him a well deserved Oscar nomination. Frances McDroamand is hilarious as William's over-protective mother, and Patrick Fugit makes one of the best debuts in years as the young hero of the story, who alone could make or break the film, he sure as hell helps it.

This is the kind of film Hollywood should make more of, it was great, it was a feel-good movie, it had the best love story in years, it'll make money, and everyone who leaves this film is smiling and singing it's praise, I got to this film 45 minutes early, and talked to a woman who loved it, then saw the whole theater leaving everyone smiling everyone talking about how great it was. Now thats promising, and thats the kind of movies I wan't to see much more often.

-T.J. Larson

To check out some cool pics from Almost Famous click HERE!
Or to see the pictures slideshow click HERE!

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