Almost Famous, written and directed by Cameron Crowe

Almost Famous, written and directed by Cameron Crowe

If you want to learn more about the making of this exciting, effervescent, happy, rewarding, joyful, clever, funny, exceptional film, you could watch a documentary called Rolling Stones-Stories from The Edge, which reveals stories from the history of the magazine, including the Cameron Crowe experience and details about characters that appear in this feature and have been there in real life: Ben Fong- Torres.

The cast is sensational, with Jimmy Fallon in a minor role and Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Patrick Fugit, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin and the memorable, late and regretted Philip Seymour Hoffman in roles that make the screen sparkle with the magnificence of the interpretations.

William Miller is the hero of this motion picture, which has deservedly won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay, and the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture –Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and it could, maybe should have won- at least tied with Gladiator- the Oscar for Best Picture.

Cameron Crowe is using autobiographical elements to weave a very endearing, amusing, truthful, imaginative narrative about the joy ride experienced by a fifteen-year-old creative boy who embarks on the trip of his life, discovering music, sex, writing and life in the process of his emancipation.

William Miller has the chance to write an article for Creem and this attracts the attention of Ben Fong-Torres of Rolling Stones fame, who offers the opportunity of a launching pad, inviting the writer- he had no idea of the age of his freelance- to cover a band on a tour, all expenses paid.

Early on, the film refers to To Kill a Mocking Bird, which is quoted by Elaine Miller, the hero’s mother aka Frances McDormand, who is very worried for her daughter and the distance growing between them, since the latter is listening to Simon and Garfunkel, ostracized by the parent because they mention drugs in their lyrics.

Zooey Deschanel aka Anita Miller feels her brother, William, is robbed of his adolescence and she is so angry with her mother that she leaves the house and becomes a flight attendant, traveling so far to get away from the overbearing teacher.

William Miller tries to get in, through the special entrance, to attend a Black Sabbath concert, only to be rejected by the doorman, which gives him the chance to meet girls that live with the bands- albeit they are not groupies- among them the beautiful, sensual, mysterious Penny Lane aka the Golden Globe winner for this part-Kate Hudson.

Stillwater is a band that has had some good songs, it is ascending, in spite of internal frictions, especially between the guitarist Russell Hammond and the other three musicians, and when they arrive at the concert, they encounter the young reporter who convinces them of his talent, although they are aware that he is “The Enemy” – someone who will write what he sees, even if that may describe the protagonists as silly or foolish.

William travels with the band, he is supposed to write two thousand words, for which he will get $ 1,000 from Rolling Stone, even if he had only written just a few pages so far, he is just a beginner-an unknown fact at the magazine- and he runs the risk of getting too close to the band.

The young journalist learns a lot from Lester Bangs aka Philip Seymour Hoffman, who first warns his disciple that he must keep the distance, realize that Lester and the apprentice are “un-cool”, they have the brains, while the musicians have the looks and the writers the talent and the ability to enjoy other things in life; when the hero is in a crisis, his mentor has the formula which is – “Stillwater is a mediocre band, struggling to cope with its fame and recent popularity”.

Lester Bangs insists that the most important thing for an aspiring journalist is a reputation for being honest and unmerciful, which the hero will try, while he is witness to internal fights and accusations, following the presentation of shirts that have Russell prominent and the others faded in the background.

“The Enemy” listens to Russell Hammond as he speaks about his superiority and his reluctance to abandon the other members, even though they are beneath him, because he feels sorry for them, now that they have large houses and bills to pay, they embark together on an adventure, attending a party in a small town, where the guitarist drinks beer with LSD, gets drunk and high, climbs the roof of the house where he shouts that he is a “golden god” and then he jumps…into the nearby swimming pool.

We also find dialogue on the meaning of music, the “rock and roll lifestyle”, the opinions that rock and roll may be approaching its end, a funny argument made by the new impresario aka Jimmy Fallon, who says that nobody can imagine Mick Jagger singing and touring at fifty- and yet he has been doing that after that age and continues well into his seventies…”Moves Like Jagger”.

On the personal level, Penny Lane has a continuing affair with Russell, notwithstanding the fact that she is only a teenager, about the same age as the hero, the musician has a “stable” relationship with another, adult woman- who is also cheating on him with the vocalist- and this is affecting the balance, development, understanding and the perspective of the girl.

After she learns she has been “sold” for fifty dollars and a case of beer, she tries to be amusing by asking what kind of beer, but she takes the lesson, lecture from William- who is asking the girl if she has any “normal” friends, given that she keeps mentioning celebrities, stars, mostly famous members of music bands and the hero states that he would wonder in her place if these people are not using him.

There is exhilaration when the members of Stillwater find that they will be on the cover of the Rolling Stones, followed by outrage, when they hear that “The Enemy” wants to publish the truth, what he heard them say- at one moment, they think they are all going to die, as the plane is descending out of control and they confess their best kept secrets.