Will Sorg-
I doubt there’s a movie that captures following your passion in life as accurately as Almost Famous. Writer/director Cameron Crowe had plenty of experience to draw from as he started out as a writer for Rolling Stone when he was 18-years-old. Most movies are built out of the lived experience of the people who make them, but this one more than others draws from its creator’s feelings on youth and the early part of figuring out your life. In the film, the fictional character of William Miller – played by Patrick Fugit – is a painfully accurate 15-year-old who gets his chance to be a music critic by following an up-and-coming band named Stillwater. The whole film really lovingly recreates 1970s America through the lens of a young man completely out of his depth.
Almost Famous brings you on a journey with its young protagonist through the ups and downs of the rock community. And this film is a journey. It is an odyssey through adolescence and a truly honest one at that. The rock and roll scene is not given a peaches and roses portrayal here. It certainly doesn’t get into extreme decadence, but you would be hard-pressed to find a movie that makes fun of everyone involved in the ’70s rock scene as much as this movie. The magazine writers, the rock stars, the fans, the groupies, and even William himself are all given a very nuanced portrayal. It makes the film feel very honest because, as William tries to find his way in life, he comes to understand that people are imperfect.
There’s a whole cast of imperfect people in this film. Conceited rock stars, a neurotic mother, and underage groupies are the most important figures of complex humanity that William Miller faces in his journey through life. There’s a lot of subtlety in the way that the film tackles the reality that pretty much everyone can be selfish and exploitative. It’s an undercurrent throughout the film that definitely contrasts with the way the film is structured. As William is the main perspective we view the other characters through, and he himself is a 15-year-old, we don’t fully see all the warts involved in other people’s lives. At the very least, each character starts as an almost romanticized version of themselves before the film slowly reveals the humanity and fallibility in each of them.
Really the most important thing to know about this movie is how fun the whole thing is. It has a perfect storm of good qualities. This movie is hilarious. All these well-realized characters make for perfect comedic moments as their party animal behavior is juxtaposed with the audience being able to see how truly ridiculous most of the characters act. The actors also perfectly sell their characters. You would be hard-pressed to find a more charismatic and fun cast and a lot of the key actors give some of their best performances in this movie. Cameron Crowe’s direction is stellar, and it is obvious that his passion for the story made everything else that much better. It is always wonderful to watch a movie that started as a passion project because a lot of the time that movie ends up stirring up the audience’s own feelings of passion and joy. Almost Famous accomplishes just that and much more.