Almost Famous is a well-told tale about a naïve but keen-witted 15-year-old lad growing up quickly in an age (the early ‘70’s) that is bearing witness to the decadent state of his life’s great passion – rock and roll. William Miller (newcomer Patrick Fugit) is the film’s preternaturally gifted young rock journalist who manages to scam a gig covering Led Zeppelin-like Stillwater, an “almost famous” band touring America’s heartland.
In an era when rock and roll is suffering through its death rattle, going on tour with Stillwater is like watching the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, with rock stars playing the parts of Emperors and Senators. Almost Famous shows us how quickly the idealism of the ‘60’s died at the hands of self-indulgent musicians and acquisitive corporate management. For William, the challenge is maintaining the necessary distance to write truthfully about all he sees, to avoid becoming, like Stillwater’s band members, co-opted by the narcissistic ego-stroking lifestyle.
Writer/director Cameron Crowe exposes the disconnectedness of relationships on the road. William is intrigued by the idea of being the band’s friend (all the while being comically referred to as “the Enemy’) and more importantly he is attracted by the openhearted enthusiasm of Stillwater “band-aid” Penny Lane (Kate Hudson is a fragile and luminescent wonder in this pivotal role). William manages to keep things “real” by spending significant portions of screen time on the phone with his overbearing mother Elaine (the wonderful Frances McDormand nails this part) and rock writer Lester Bangs ( Philip Seymour Hoffman), who urges William to keep his writing honest and merciless. Their involvement allows William to overcome the seduction of Stillwater’s lead guitarist Russell Hammond ( Billy Crudup) and ultimately deliver a warts-and-all portrait of Stillwater for Rolling Stone magazine.
While this production captures the mood and feel of the time very well, there is one stumble in this trip down memory lane. The new music written by Crowe’s significant other, Heart’s Nancy Wilson is inserted into the film to represent the generic arena-rock sound of the early ‘70’s; however, it pales by comparison to the authentic Led Zeppelin tunes sprinkled generously throughout the soundtrack. Another quibble is the movie’s “heart warming” Elton John sing-along. In my darkest nightmares, I simply can’t imagine Robert Plant and Jimmy Page crooning 'Tiny Dancer,' no matter how much acid they were dropping.
For all its potential, Almost Famous is merely almost great. “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid,” says Elaine, quoting Goethe. If Crowe had taken this advice, and removed some of the too-cutesy bits and the overly pat ending, he might have produced something more than a well-crafted commercial success. Still, Cameron Crowe has an instinctive feel for balancing the heart-warming and the satirical, as he proved in the immensely popular Jerry Maguire and the undervalued but near perfect Say Anything. He is on top of his game in Almost Famous, with a film that is at turns blistering and hilarious, exposing rock and roll’s rotting core.
