Film Muse: Almost Famous (2002)

This post goes out to all of my rock 'n' roll lovers out there. 

May I introduce to you one of my most favorite films of all time - Almost Famous (2002)  dir. Cameron Crowe! 

Almost Famous is a coming of age story about a teenager who happens to get the opportunity to write a music review for the Rolling Stone magazine. He goes on a journey road tripping with the band "Stillwater" and meets their groupies, or "Band-Aids" as they like to call themselves. The movie unravels the pressure of musicians vs. the publicity, but most importantly, the strain of relationships of everyone on board.

 Love and rock 'n' roll, what more could you ask for? 

There are many things to love about this film. To start off, its pretty much a true story. Well, almost. Director Cameron Crowe actually toured with many rock bands of the seventies, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, and Led Zeppelin. Apparently, Crowe shared many of the same experiences that William, the main character, does in the film (those of which I will not spoil!). There is nothing better than having a director put his or her's heart, soul, and true experiences into a film. 

For me, the cast is what really makes this film. First of all, Kate Hudson - the perfectly fragile (yet head strong) groupie who acts as the band's muse, shines strongly. While we are talking about the "Band-Aids", I have to give it up to our girls Fairuza Balk (The Craft) and Anna Paquin (X-Men) as well. They played the most perfect blend of flirty and likeable characters, almost like "mama bears" to young William. Then we have Zooey Deschanel, who acts as the "cool older sister" type with impeccable music taste. But the real star of the film is Patrick Fugit who plays William. I think this was one of his first big acting debuts and this kid rocked it. Oh, and Jimmy Fallon is in this movie too. Basically no other film can be topped in terms of having an awesome cast. 

What I liked most about this film was the emotions that it embodied. You have the fragility of love- not just in us humans, but for the music as well. This ambience of the rock 'n' roll spirit blankets the film in a pure and nostalgic way. The viewer follows the heart break, the sense of longing, and uneasiness of the future in ALL of the characters. It's like you're going on this amazing ride for the whole film, but you know its going to end at some point - just like their tour. 

(Last words: I dig music!) 

Alright, I had to add this scene in really quick if you've seen the film (if not you might want to skip ahead). Can we just sit down and appreciate this part? The fact that a rock 'n' star could casually go to a party, jump off a roof and into a pool, and not be mobbed by fans is brilliant. I think this scene is perfect because it amplifies the RESPECT OF MUSIC. Not even the respect, but the love. I know it was common then as well, but our celebrity culture today really pushes the listener and the creator far apart. In this scene, they come together - even if the party goers still see him as "godlike", the amount of chillness is incomprehensible.  I just thought this scene was really humbling. 

Moving on. 

Overall, if you want to feel good - watch this film. Its heart wrenching and hilarious. The fact that a movie set in the '70s could be created like this past the year 2000 and still retain the original vibe is hard to achieve. To put it simply - this movie has soul. There is nothing more to say. 

Keep it cool, 

Lauren Rose

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