ALMOST FAMOUS. . .almost great by film writer Paris Sewell
Let’s take a trip through memory lane. It is the 1970s. Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are on the radio. Your parents are screaming at you for your frivolous rebellious nature because all you want to do is immerse yourself in the world of rock n roll. Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000, Sony) concocts 1970’s youth culture in a semi-autobiographical period piece about a teenage journalist who gets catapulted into the big leagues writing about the lifestyle of famous rock stars for Rolling Stone magazine.
15-year-old sheltered kid William aspires to become a rock n roll journalist. His mother is extremely overprotective, and his sister left to become a stewardess in order to break away from the chains. William gets an opportunity to write a review for Black Sabbath and he connects with up-and-coming band Stillwater. He is taken under their wing and tours the world with them, dictating every experience. He meets Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a self-identified “band-aid” (a groupie but for the music). She is carefree and beautiful; a perfect image of a woman. She and William are polar opposites: she has total freedom and lives life to the fullest, whilst William is still inexperienced and tethered to his mother. This film glamourizes the dangerous and reckless lifestyle of the Rockstar.
Erica Banas calls this movie “a love letter to rock journalism and the music of the 1970s.” This perfectly sums the movie. It takes the elements that are most romanticized about the 1970s: rock, freedom, youth, etc. Drama, alcohol and sex revolve around these rebellious figures and everyone wants a taste of the good life. I loved the aesthetic of the film and I definitely enjoyed the fashion (it is the girl in me). Penny Lane was one of my favorites because of her serene vibe and spirit. I would recommend this movie; it was a pretty good watch.
Still, maybe it would have helped to have known more who the fictional characters and band were based on. As someone who was a teenager in the 2010’s, I felt a number of the references might have been lost on me. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a music critic named Lester Bangs who was a real guy. It would have been helpful to get a better sense of why he was so important to Cameron Crowe. I will give it a 6.9/10.
Written by film critic & writer Paris Sewell. Paris posts film reviews and pop culture appreciations on Instagram @parishatesyouxo and Twitter @blkspicegurl. Thank you so much for reading.