I have a feeling that I liked "Almost Famous" more than I think I did. My expectations were very high. I mean, this movie was written and directed by Cameron Crowe, the man who wrote "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," and later, wrote and directed "Say Anything," "Singles," and the great "Jerry Maguire." My expectations were very high for "Almost Famous," and even though I liked it, my expectations may have been too high to really enjoy it.
"Almost Famous" is the autobiographical story of when a teenage Cameron Crowe (though his name is "William Miller" in the movie) went on tour with a band to write an article for "Rolling Stone" magazine. It was obviously a very important part of his life, and I'd love to read that article today.
I don't know if it's true, but I heard that Dreamworks made Cameron Crowe cut out quite a few minutes of his movie. When I first heard this, I was bothered. I hate it when ANY studio makes a director cut scenes outta his/her movie. I'm a big supporter of the director being allowed his/her true vision. But it disturbed me more that the studio was the usually artist-friendly Dreamworks, and the director was the immensely talented Cameron Crowe. If it's true, let's hope that Crowe gets to have a director's cut on the DVD.
By the way, the "Jerry Maguire" DVD should be redone. It has absolutely no extras at all, and that's a movie that should have lotsa extras, including audio commentary by Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise.
Crowe rounded up a great, though relatively unknown cast for "Almost Famous." The closest thing to a well-known name is Frances McDormand, the Oscar-winning actress who starred in "Fargo." She's great as the eccentric, worrisome mother who can freak out anybody. Actually, Anna Paquin, another Oscar winner (for "The Piano"), is in the movie, and she's pretty well-known. Her role isn't big, but it's certainly important. There's also Fairuza Balk, an actress loved by all the goths out there. She always plays freaks in the movies she's in. She was the lead witch in "The Craft," and she was Adam Sandler's wacky love interest in "The Waterboy." The rest are names you may not of ever heard of, unless you know your independent films. Billy Crudup (I've never seen any of his earlier films) is great as the guitarist of "Stillwater" (the fictional band featured in the movie... I'd love to know who they were based on). Jason Lee (popular actor in Kevin Smith movies, especially "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy," both of which he's featured in heavily) is very good as the band's lead singer. Supposedly, he's who Kevin Smith is considering to play the lead role in his upcoming "Fletch" movies. I think he'd be great. Noah Taylor (in "Shine," he played David Helfgott as a teenager) is completely scuzzy and unrecognizable as the band's manager. Jimmy Fallon (VERY funny "SNL" guy... his impressions are fantastic) plays their other manager, and he's another one who's pretty unrecognizable. Philip Seymour Hoffman, who can be seen in all of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies ("Hard Eight," "Boogie Nights," and "Magnolia"), is great and hilarious as the helpful friend and advisor to the teenage reporter. As for the guy who plays the teenage reporter, that's Patrick Fugit, who I've never heard of, nor have I ever seen. He was pretty good, but there's one scene he did that I didn't buy. Maybe it was because the dialogue was very obviously dubbed, but neither he, nor the scene worked for me. That's not good, because it was a pretty emotional scene.
There's one member of the cast I saved for last, and that person is Kate Hudson. She's got stunning beauty and immense talent. I've never seen her earlier films, but I DO know that she's Goldie Hawn's daughter. Also, I know that she's engaged to Chris Robinson of The Black Crows. What the hell is that woman thinking? She's gorgeous and she can have anybody she wants! What does she see in that anorexic drug addict? Actually, maybe he isn't anorexic, but he's REALLY skinny. Also, maybe he doesn't do drugs anymore, I dunno. Still, the guy is no supermodel. I'll never understand the whole thing where beautiful women are attracted to ugly rock stars. Anyway, this is a starmaking performance by Kate Hudson, and she's completely unforgettable in this movie. We're gonna see a lot of her in the next few years.
I have a feeling that "Almost Famous" will be for me like what "Boogie Nights" was. When I saw it the first time, I liked it, but as I watch it a few more times, I like it more and more until I totally love it.
So yeah, I
was slightly disappointed with "Almost Famous," but I still liked
it a lot. As time goes by, I'm sure I'll like it even more. It's a very
cute, very sweet movie, just like the other Cameron Crowe movies. And keep
an eye on Kate Hudson. She's gonna be a star. Besides, she's very hot, so
it's not hard to keep your eye on her anyway.