TNMC

Written by Rafael Pujals  Let know one ever say that Cameron Crowe doesn't know how to incorporate music into his movies. Singles, his loveletter to the Seattle music scene of the early 90s was a great movie, and if nothing else, always takes me back to those formative high school years where Pearl Jam and grunge were king. Ah the memories...Going back a bit further, who doesn't remember the scene from Say Anything, where John Cusack is holding the boombox over his head blasting Peter Gabriel? That scene made an otherwise forgettable movie into a cult classic. Crowe just loves putting in as much music as possible. Sometimes it can backfire, such as in Jerry McGuire, where Tom Cruise sings along with "Free Fallin" for what seems to be an eternity, but Almost Famous is not such an instance. Almost Famous is by far his most ambitious, and best work to date. In fact, Crowe should retire and go out on a high note. A very high note.

Almost Famous is Crowe's semi-autobiographical story of a 15 year old William Miller, who gets commissioned by Rolling Stone to follow around and write an article about rising (fictional) band Stillwater. William is played perfectly by newcomer Patrick Fugit, and he's great. Adolescent actors can really bring a movie down if they're not on. (as good as Terminator 2 is, I still think Edward Furlong's acting ability didn't kick in until American History X) But Fugit is dead on. His teen angst, and passion for rock and roll is very palpable. Who can't identity with that?

The rest of cast is perfect as well. Billy Crudup as guitarist Russell is fantastic as always. For those who aren't familiar with Crudup, find a theatre playing Jesus' Son. A very cool movie based on the book by Denis Johnson. I'd never seen a movie with Kate Hudson before, but she has way more acting ability , and is much hotter than her mom, Goldie Hawn. Jason Lee, finally getting some work outside of Kevin Smith/ View Askew films, is also great. Of course, all he did was bring his Brody/Banky persona to the 70s, but, hey - I love that persona. I just wish he'd had even more screen time. And finally, Philip Seymour Hoffman adds yet another cameo-like, scene stealing role to his repertoire. He had a very cool part in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and his disillusioned Lester Bangs character here serves as William's guide on his journey.

As a musician/guitarist myself, I suppose I have a predisposition to like music movies. I dug The Doors, the aforementioned Singles, The Commitments, and of course - This is Spinal Tap! So there are many ways to love this movie, whether it's as a musician, a film critic, or if you're just looking to have a little 70s nostalgia. I tell you what, I wish Stillwater had been a real band. Some original music was written and performed for this movie, and their song "Fever Dog" is gold. I had "Fever Dog" in my head all night.

The moral of the story - if you see one movie this fall, see Red Planet. But if you see two, see Almost Famous, easily the best drama/comedy I've seen in ages, punctuated with a great cast, great direction and some really great rock n' roll. Don't be surprised to see Crowe walk away with some statuettes come Oscar time.

Reviewer's side note: why is everything with a Crow(e) in it so damn cool? Russell Crowe, Cameron Crowe, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow, The Black Crowes, The Crow, etc....okay, okay...The Crow II was not cool...

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