ALMOST FAMOUS A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Watching ALMOST FAMOUS by writer/director Cameron Crowe (JERRY MAGUIRE) is like enjoying one of those old vinyl LPs that are collecting dust in your closet. As you kick back, you can remember your younger days, while listening to some great rock 'n' roll.
Our guide on this journey to the past is William Miller, a cherubic 15-year-old high school senior about to graduate. He not only looks and is much younger than his fellow classmates, he even seems younger than 15. In an inspired bit of casting, Patrick Fugit, a kid with sweetly penetrating eyes and an androgynous bowl haircut, plays William. With his expressive little smile, he looks like a kid in a candy shop whose mother just gave him her credit card.
Today's kids dream of becoming video game designers or dot-com zillionaires. Back in 1973 being a music critic would rank second only to being a rock star. With no apparent musical skills but with a gift for writing and a passion for listening to music, William sets his sights on a career writing about rock bands. Whether anyone will take this boyish figure as a real critic seems questionable at best.
William's mother, Elaine (Frances McDormand), is a professor who warns her family against rock 'n' roll. Even Simon and Garfunkel's music, she tells them, is just about "drugs and promiscuous sex." Whenever she speaks to her son, she is just as likely to say, "Don't take drugs!" -- which he never does -- as she is to say, "I love you." The good-spirited script softens Elaine's image so that we find her a strong, lovable character and not merely a cliché.
As a cynical music writer named Lester Bangs, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays William's brash mentor. Lester tells William that it's too bad he missed rock's heyday and that it's all over now. He generously gives William his first assignment -- a small piece writing about Black Sabbath. William repeats Lester's writing advice like a mantra from on high: "Honest. Unmerciful." Lester warns him about the pitfalls of writing about a band that he likes. "Friendship is the booze they feed you," Lester admonishes him.
Although he can't even get past the stage door bouncer to see Black Sabbath, he does manage to strike up a friendship with Clearwater, who end up inviting him to join them on tour. This lands him a writing gig with Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen) of Rolling Stone to interview the band on the tour, which is called the "Almost Famous Tour 73." (The real-life Ben Fong-Torres was at our press screening, and he seemed quite amused by it all.)
Right away, the pixyish kid is adopted by the band like a mascot, and they take William (and us) into their world of concerts, bus trips and groupies. They also provide enough quotes for our young scribe to fill several volumes. "Rock 'n' roll can save the world!" Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee from DOGMA) tells William. "And the chicks are great, right?"
Traveling with Clearwater are girls that call themselves "Band-Aids" rather than groupies since they don't have "sex" with band members, just oral sex -- where have we heard that one before? The leader of this contingent is a girl who calls herself Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) and who says that she's about William's age. She and William become best friends, but she is the mistress of Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup from JESUS' SON), the band's most popular member. Russell, who bonds with William, explains that all of the band members have wives and permanent girlfriends back home so that he shouldn't write about the Band-Aids.
Crudup, who frequently seems so serious in his parts that you wonder if he's having any fun, clearly gets a kick out of his role this time. Russell knows that no matter how innocent William looks, he could still be the enemy if he writes something that trashes the band or reveals too many secrets. Russell's a trippy philosopher ("In 11 years, it will be 1984 -- think about it."), who is more profound sober than stoned.
The music is great, the concert footage is energetic and John Toll's cinematography is luscious. A completely entertaining film, it manages to find a cathartic way to wrap it all up. And it makes this film critic a bit jealous since William's assignment is like the job of a lifetime.
ALMOST FAMOUS runs 2:04. It is rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity and would be acceptable for most teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http:/www.InternetReviews.com
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