Casi famosos

This film may have just one flaw- it aims too high. But that doesn't matter in this world. Here, we see the autobiographical tale of Cameron Crowe (writer/director and co-producer of this film) in his days as a young writer for Rolling Stone (one story I think) as seen by William Miller. He follows a rock band called Stillwater (much to mom's dismay played well by Frances McDormand) on a Almost Famous tour with rockers, groupies and bandaids. Real sweetness comes when the worlds of Miller and the band combine and dramedy kicks in. Quite the Crowe picture, one of his best ones, that takes a look at the days of rock when it was still cool to do drugs, have sex and be cool singing Elton John in a bus (that scene was the highlight). Band members include Billy Crudup, Jason Lee and others including Fairuza Balk, Anna Paquin, and in a exceptional performance, the free spirited Penny Lane played by Kate Hudson. This film is definately in my top 25 list of the year. A-

There was a time in the US rock circuit before music videos and online marketing. That was the time when several little-known bands toured all over the country... accompanied mostly by drugs and groupies. Writer-director Cameron Crowe takes us to that infamous scene of sex, drugs and rock n' roll in the 1970's with this semi-autobiographical work, which is not only equipped with his brilliant direction and screenplay, but also by decent performances by some relatively lesser-known actors.

Here the introduction of a not-too-famous band, an imaginary one called Stillwater, was important. In that sense, Stillwater is a perfect work by Crowe... with a volatile relationship between the vocalist and the guitarist, with a noncompetent manager and everything that comes with. There were also the groupies, who became a matter of substance in Crowe's point of view. But the most extraordinary thing that Crowe did is the image of himself as a 15-year-old writing prodigy, rock journalist William Miller. The viewers watch the movie through Miller's eyes. The character is extremely well-designed and reserved by Crowe. Miller's the one who becomes able to attach all the parts into a complete movie alone.

Billy Crudup was probably the best among the actors as guitarist Russell Hammond. It's true his role was not a tough one, but he's the one who made it look so easy. Young Kate Hudson, as Penny Lane, is perfect and very adorable. She showed her potentials in this movie which seemed even better than her mother, Goldie Hawn. All she needs are decent roles in future. The other actors, namely Jason Lee as vocalist Jeff, Frances McDormand as Williams's over-protective mother and the other band-aids (with Oscar-winner Anna Paquin) performed also quite well. And newcomer Patrick Fugit, as Miller himself, is really brilliant. Gaining more screen time than anyone else, it was a tough test for Fugit and it is all praises for him.

The soundtrack was very good with some fine original songs. There may be some minor flaws in the movie, like some unnecessary sequences, but all over this is a quite masterful work... a feast for the mind and soul, both for a hard rock n' roll fan and for casual viewers.

The casting of Almost Famous is perfection. The music is sublime; Would one expect anything less with Nancy Wilson at the helm of the soundtrack? The cost of syncing some of the most iconic classic rock songs must have cost investors a pretty penny - it was money well-spent, as the film thrives on one of the best soundtrack syncs in movie history.

Almost Famous is classic Cameron Crowe - a semi-autobiographical film that pulls from his own experiences as a young journalist with Rolling Stone magazine in its glory daze of the early 1970's. Yes, most of the events in the movie (including the airplane scene) really DID happen with Crowe there to witness (albeit being an amalgam of different bands and circumstances Cameron covered as a rock journalist).

You care about the characters who are developed and illuminated throughout the film. Crowe's spot-on casting and "actors' director" prowess serves as a catalyst for the actors, inspiring the cast to draw out the intimate feelings and thoughts of each character without crossing into melodrama - The result is an acting ensemble tour de force.

Almost Famous is a must-see for both classic-rock fans and movie lovers at large.

You get to witness several breakout early-career performances including Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschannel, Billy Crudup, and yes, even Jimmy Fallon.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Francis McDormand are as usual, nearly flawless.

Get a back-stage pass to this fabulous movie - a loving ode to the early 70's twilight days of the classic rock era.

William has an overprotective mother, and his sister has already been driven away by her refusal to accept her children's ambitions and interests. William finds solace in his sister's music collection and begins to dream of a life as a rock journalist. At 15 William manages to land a assignment with Rolling Stone Magazine to interview an up and coming band called Stillwater, and he quickly finds himself immersed in the life his mother so desperately wanted to protect him from.

And so the story begins, as William tours with the band, we are taken on a journey of mistrust, discovery, deceit and disappointment; interlaced with the hard truths about the bands lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, sex and music.

Almost Famous pulls no punches, and is a deep insight into the dream that became an ambition, that became a harsh reality.

Packed with top class performances all round and great music score Almost Famous delivers, and delivers with attitude and realism that is rarely captured on film.

A must see for Fans of the genre, but there's certainly enough here for everyone.

9/10

On a rating scale of 0 to 100; I gave Almost Famous a score of 95.

One of the most critically acclaimed movie experiences of the year 2000, Almost Famous is the second feature film to come out Cameron Crowe, and he beats his first effort, Jerry Maguire by a mile. Almost Famous is a stunning, thought-provoking film that comes at you directly from the eye of the camera and hits you with a hard bang. It's a movie not only for people who love 70's rock bands, but for all movie-goer's who really love the feeling of coming out of the cinema feeling totally fulfilled.

A 15 year old boy named William Miller (Patrick Fugit) gets an opportunity to travel with a rock band, Stillwater on a 1973 tour. As a younger boy, his sister (Zooey Deschanel) and his widowed mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) had fought about the mother's control over the family and her denial of rock music. The sister leaves home and leaves the young boy her record collection, which immediately seizes his attention. As a teen, he makes record reviews for an underground newspaper. He submits those to Creem magazine writer Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and gets his attention. The two become fast friends and Bangs acts as his mentor as Rolling Stone magazine comes calling. Slipping into an inner group connected with Stillwater, Rolling Stone agrees to bankroll him on a trip with the group. There he meets the "Band Aids", a group of girls that refuse to be called groupies because they are dedicated only to specific bands. "Penny Lane" (Kate Hudson), the Band Aid's leader is enamored with the group leader (Billy Crudup), but befriends the teen. He responds with complete infatuation with her, but he is equally enamored with the charismatic guitarist. While accepted by the band (other members are Jason Lee, John Fedevich and Mark Kozeleck), they nonetheless refer to him as "the enemy - a rock critic".

The film is classically cool and endlessly enjoyable, making it by far one of the top 5 movies of last year. The film boasts absolutely incredible performances, Patrick Fugit is a newcomer and has terrific potential, Frances McDormand is emotionally stunning as an over-protective mother and Billy Crudup, who I underrated at first, gives a performance of believability and power. However, it comes as no surprise that the film's acting star is Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn. Hudson gives a masterful performance as Penny Lane, she pulls off all Lane's facial expressions effortlessly brilliantly, and God knows she is one of the most stunning young performers of her current time, and she gives one of the most memorably exciting performances of 2000. Cameron Crowe gets a big pat on the back too for arranging the movie delicately and with absolute dedication.

Cameron Crowe's instant classic is a hard one to beat, and is surely the closest thing we have to a perfect `rock movie' these days. Absolutely unmissable.