Almost Famous

Another one of my latest favorite movies means another movie review.


Rock n' roll. Chicks and booze. Band tours, parties after parties. They're all great, until they get a hold of you and one day, you find yourself in something you cannot get out of. That is the premise of this movie.

It was all about the music to begin with. It was the guitars, the bass, the drums, and the voices that ring the melodies. For the love of music, people started playing and people started listening. And people started cheering and people started following. The music is awesome, but the music industry? Not so much. The music industry isn't too friendly, or rather deceptively friendly, especially if you're naive. And William, the protagonist of this movie, is just that. Naive. I'll explain what I mean.

William enters the music scene first by writing critical pieces on bands for magazines. He loves rock and roll, and he's a gifted writer. Hence, despite his very young age he's even able to score a publishing deal with the Rolling Stones. But where his passion lies is also where the dangers are set. William is set out to do one thing: to get a story out of a band called Stillwater. But the task becomes more and more difficult as time passes. William follows Stillwater on their band tour, and yes, the band is always busy and they have issues within themselves but the movie is about much more. 'Almost Famous' is a story about being able to find and stay true to yourself. In the music scene, it's hard not to have fun but sometimes it just gets too fun. Temptations from sex to drugs, from dishonesty to betrayals, from jealousy to mistrust, we see people fighting to get a grasp of the little life they have. In midst of the chaos, we see people, with their best efforts, fight for their true selves while some have become completely complacent and fully indulge in their temporal desires. Where does William stand in all this mess?

I love music. To be specific, I love classic rock. Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix, Deep Purple, Rush, ACDC, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Eagles, ZZ Top, and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of my favorite bands. In high school days, I'd idolize guitar legends such as Jimmy Page, Alex Lifeson, Eric Clapton, and Eddie Van Halen. And that's how I learned the guitar. And in the movie 'Almost Famous', I enjoyed every bit of the live performance scenes. But the movie is much more than that. Music is just the medium the movie uses to portray something much more universal. Just like the movie 'August Rush', if you've seen it, is really about a lost child searching for his parents through music, 'Almost Famous' is about struggling to fight for one's beliefs, passions, and morals. Because, rock star or not, if you don't have any of those to call for your own, then you're a nobody.

Now, I would've given this movie 6 stars just based on the plot and development. There is nothing magical about the story. The plot is more or less linear. There are no twists or turns. There is no comedy or jazz to brighten things up. There is no sense of suspense or thrill. But the movie, overall, deserves 8 stars because the real magic of this movie lies in the script and the characters themselves. And it's no surprise that Cameron Crowe, the screenplay writer for the movie, won the 2001 Oscars for 'Best Screenplay Writing'.

The characters are real. They are down to earth, real human beings who talk just like the rest of us, only with more efficiency since it's a 120-minute film. Even the rock stars talk like us. Yes, they are cool, but not that cool. Despite how amazingly well off someone seems to be, beneath the surface we are all in the same boat. At least, that's what the writer is saying about the music industry. And the message can't be clearer than in the case of Penny Lane, one of the groupies that follow the band Stillwater, played by Kate Hudson. 'Almost Famous' is a perfect candidate for a good Saturday or Sunday afternoon, popcorn movie.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (8 stars)