Almost Famous
Almost Famous (2000)
Reviewed by Mike Attebery
“You CANNOT make friends with the rock stars. That's what's important. If you're a rock journalist - first, you will never get paid much. But you will get free records from the record company. And they'll buy you drinks, you'll meet girls, they'll try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs... I know. It sounds great. But they are not your friends. These are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of rock stars, and they will ruin rock and roll and strangle everything we love about it.” – Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
“Write what you want” – Russell Hammond
Cameron Crowe made one too many movies with Tom Cruise, and it ruined him. ‘Jerry Maguire’ was a touchstone film for me. I can still remember walking out to my car at night after seeing that movie and thinking, “Wow.” It was inspiring in terms of writing, in terms of filmmaking, and in terms of life. Before Maguire, there was ‘Singles,’ which I hated but I guess others enjoyed. Before that, there was ‘Say Anything’ which to this day remains Crowe’s money in the bank. I’m proud to live down the street from the 7-11 where Lloyd Dobler kicked the glass, and which sits across from the park where he later held the boombox aloft while Peter Gabriel sang “In Your Eyes.” ‘Say Anything,’ though slightly jumpy in its storyline, is as close to perfect as a teen romance, or any romance for that matter, can hope to get. Crowe is a talented writer and director. When he’s writing about people and places close to his heart, he’s at the top of his game. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to bloviate (listen to any of his lectures on the “must-hear bootleg recordings” of such-and-such a musician and you’ll see what I mean). I feel he could be one of the great filmmakers if he’d stay in Seattle, live the life of a stay at home father, and come up with scripts based on real life. Sadly, Crowe seems to hunger for the jet set, L.A. lifestyle, hob-knobbing with celebrities, talking at length about obscure recordings and insider hoopla, and worst of all, collaborating with Tom Cruise to produce really out of touch, epic disasters like ‘Vanilla Sky’ a film that severely damaged his good will, before he wound up critically bankrupt with 2005’s ‘Elizabethtown.’ Despite the impression left by Crowe’s insufferable director’s commentary track on the ‘Vanilla Sky’ DVD, neither film is worth a second thought. They’re dreadful. But what’s most upsetting about the director’s sudden collapse, is that the film before ‘Vanilla Sky’ was a little project originally entitled ‘Stillwater,’ which ultimately became the second best film of the man’s career: ‘Almost Famous.’ That film is most definitely worth a look.
Rock stars have hypnotic powers. How else can you explain their ability to entrance entire stadiums of concertgoers with their music? They’re bigger than life figureheads of art and rebellion, who embody many of the qualities the rest of us only wish we could convey. Rock stars live the clichéd lives of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and get PAID to do it. Paid quite well in fact. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought, “I wouldn’t mind having that life.” But the thing is, if given the opportunity, I think I’d rather have a more low-key life, like the one of Crowe’s alter ego, William Miller, a fifteen year old kid who gets the chance to travel around the country with one of his favorite bands, living the life, befriending the players, all the while putting together a cover story for Rolling Stone.
Yeah, being in the band, hanging with the girls, doing what you wanted, where you wanted, whenever you wanted, that would be pretty cool. But writing about it, and getting to experience that life from the edges, while avoiding the more unpleasant temptations that come with rock god celebrity, that would be good too. Hell, if I could follow Crowe’s career path, writing for a magazine like Rolling Stone, then writing books, then screenplays, then directing movies from my own scripts, if I could take that path, well, that would be BETTER than any rock star’s life. I think William would agree with me on that.
‘Almost Famous’ is one insightful movie. From the opening credits, filled with keepsakes and memento from Crowe’s real teenage journalist days, it’s clear this is a nostalgic movie that sees the past with just enough clarity to prove bitter and sweet.
You feel for the kid. You share his excitement when he gets backstage for his first show. You feel the pain of his unrequited love for Penny Lane. You feel his panic when dealing with the ugly aftermath of a rock star romance gone sour.
This is a funny, touching, delicate coming of age movie. It hits all the right chords.
So that brings me back to Cameron Crowe. What went wrong? Why are his movies and his director’s commentaries so TERRIBLE these days? Unfortunately, I think he’s forgotten Lester Bangs’ advice and once again made friends with the rock stars. I hope he finds his way home soon. Maybe Frances McDormand can knock some sense into him.
There are actually two DVD versions of ‘Almost Famous.’ The original 2001 DVD release, and the December 2001 director’s edition: ‘Untitled: The Bootleg Cut.’ While the extended version has numerous deleted and extended scenes, the theatrical cut is still the better version. The extended cut is just too long, too unwieldy, and at times, a little too slow. It’s great to watch the new scenes and learn more about the production, but to get caught up in the movie itself, I’d go with the original. Get your copy here.