Almost Famous

2000 • 123 minutes

About this movie

Writer and director Cameron Crowe's experiences as a teenage rock journalist (he was a regular contributor to Rolling Stone while still in high school) inspired this coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy hitting the road with an up-and-coming rock band in the early 1970s. Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand) is a bright, loving, but strict single parent whose distrust of rock music and fears about drug use have helped to drive a wedge between herself and her two children, Anita (Zooey Deschanel) and William (Patrick Fugit). Anita rebels by dropping out of school and becoming a stewardess, but William makes something of his love of rock & roll by writing album reviews for a local underground newspaper. William's work attracts the attention of Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), editor of renegade rock magazine Creem, who takes William under his wing and gives him his first professional writing assignment ﾗ covering a Black Sabbath concert. While William is unable to score an interview with the headliners, the opening act, Stillwater, are more than happy to chat with a reporter, even if he's still too young to drive, and William's piece on the group in Creem gains him a new admirer in Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), an editor at Rolling Stone. Torres offers William an assignment for a 3,000-word cover story on Stillwater, and over the objections of his mother (whose parting words are "Don't use drugs!"), and after some stern advice from Bangs (who says under no circumstances should he become friends with a band he's covering), Williams joins Stillwater on tour, where he becomes friendly with guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). William also becomes enamored of Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a groupie traveling with the band who is no older than William, but is deeply involved with Russell. Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres, incidentally, were real-life rock writers Crowe worked with closely during his days as a journalist. Almost Famous' original score was composed by Nancy Wilson of Heart (who is also Crowe's wife).

Ratings and reviews

I fell in love with this movie when I saw it in the theatre as a teen and it's still my favourite movie. No matter what kind of movie mood I'm in if I'm looking for something to watch and not to sure what it should be my first choice goes to Almost Famous. A great cast including Kate Hudson (whom I'm not normally a fan of), Frances McDormand, Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee, Billy Crudup, and Noah Taylor. As well there some fantastic scenes by the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman as music writer Lester Bangs. The movie has an Amazing 70s Folk/Rock soundtrack with The Who, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Blue Oyster Cult, amongst many many others. The characers are interesting and the story compelling - and when you find out it's partially based on Cameron Crowe's early years writing for Rolling Stone it's even more interesting. It's funny, sweet, dramatic, and rocks in the best ways. If you're a fan 70s music or just want to see a great film Almost Famous is a must watch.

The cast is outstanding. McDormand is fabulous. Hudson is hot, beautiful, refreshingly original. And kudos to the late, great Hoffman. Nancy Wilson arranged a superb soundtrack for early seventies rock and roll. I was 10 years old in 1973 and I applaud the authenticity of this film. The ending is so very touching you will never forget it. See this movie!

Excellent take on music in the 70s. The characters are engaging and come off as very genuine and realistic. The soundtrack is a great walk through of early/mid 70s Rock. One of the best scenes is deleted but up on YouTube. The band has an interview on-air that is hysterical.