Okay, here's the deal. Forgive my intrusion into another genre of entertainment, but does anyone out there remember when rock and roll music was really rock and roll? Not the incredible mishmash of wailing and moaning that calls itself "pop" music, mind you. I'm talking about the stuff that got your heart pounding, your body moving, and your soul burning? Music made not with a computer and the correct software, but with guitars and pianos and drums? Songs with words, sung by voices that echoed through your mind for years?
Apologies, but I went deep into Woodstock Nation for a minute....
The music I speak of, though, comes from just past that country. I'm talking about the early '70s, when folks like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, and the Allman Brothers were peaking, and groups like The Doobie Brothers and The Eagles were beating on the door. At the time, there was only one source for all rock knowledge. That, my friends, was Rolling Stone magazine. I know, nowdays Rolling Stone is nothing much more than a glossy collection of cologne ads and fashion layouts. At one time, though, Rolling Stone was as much the voice of a generation as you could've hoped for. And, one of the biggest legends of Rolling Stone is that of Cameron Crowe, now famous for his scriptwriting and filmmaking.
Crowe was 15 years old when he conned his way into a job with the magazine. He lowered his voice, spoke the lingo, and managed to get hired to write profiles of rock bands. Imagine, friends and neighbors, what life would've been like, to be 15 years old, on an expense account, and traveling with people like Roger Daltrey, Joe Walsh, and Jimmie Page. Dear Lord, I'd be ten toes up if it'd been me.... In addition, one of his more famous assignments, going back to high school undercover and writing about the culture, turned into a little book and movie called Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in case you were interested...
Well, Crowe has turned this life experience into a new film called Almost Famous. It's a semi-autobiographical story about a teenage writer hired to write for Rolling Stone, and his travels and travails while following a fictitious band called Stillwater. And, folks, for my money, it's one of the best films of the year, and one of the best films Cameron Crowe has ever made.
Patrick Fugit plays the Crowe character, here known as Billy Miller. William backs into his job at Rolling Stone, and gets the assignment of going on the road with Stillwater, an opening act working their way up the ladder. His mentor, real-life rock critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), steers him through the ways of life on the road, teaching him to always remember that writers are perpetually the squares. Billy learns the lesson quickly, because he can't even get past security on his first attempt to contact the band. Thankfully, though, he crosses paths with a beautiful Stillwater groupie named Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), who unlocks the doors to the inner sanctum.
Once there, Billy's in for the long haul. He gets to see the ups and downs, and sees rock and roll for what it is -- a hard life, full of egos and sex and choices. The lead guitarist, Russell Hammond, played by Billy Crudup, is in constant conflict with the lead singer, Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). Penny and her friends Sapphire and Polexia (Fairuza Balk and Anna Paquin) insist they are "in it for the music," although they know their duties as fans include, uh, "servicing" the band, if you get my meaning. Drug use is accepted as the norm, and, yes, the norm can backfire in harsh ways.
There's no real clean way to start praising Almost Famous without simply saying two words: Cameron Crowe. Crowe has the ability to pen dialogue that just transcends writing. He writes words that sound like real conversation, and that's no small feat in this day of high speeches and perfectly worded sound bytes. If you doubt this, look back at some of the dialogue from Say Anything and Jerry Maguire. And, this time, Crowe is writing from his own life, so he knows all too well what was said, and needed to be said. Combine this scripting style with his easygoing flow of direction, and that should be enough. But to add John Toll's cinematography pushes it to the edge of perfection. Toll created the amazing visual style of The Thin Red Line, capturing the humanity behind the warfare around the character. This time, the war is less oppressive, but Toll still locks in the gracefulness in motion of each soldier.
Certainly, though, credit is also due the cast of Almost Famous. Fugit, a newcomer, has stepped headlong into the business. His face tells the story we all want to tell, that of the outsider who finally got inside. And his wonderfully goofy grin keep us reminded that the innocence of being a kid still reins supreme. Jason Lee (who made his bones working with that other master of dialogue, Kevin Smith) and Billy Crudup are both great as the musicians who want the world and are willing to do anything to get it. And, people, the more I watch Philip Seymour Hoffman, the more I'm convinced that he's one of the best actors going right now. I've watched him go from the detestable little snot in Scent of a Woman to the tornado-stalking wild man in Twister. I've seen him in drag in Flawless, and I've seen him as a flunkie in The Big Lebowski. I've seen him be a confused porno soundman in Boogie Nights, and I've seen him be a humble pervert in Happiness. Is there nothing he can't do? Here, he plays the voice of reality in the unreal world of Rock Music, guiding his charge through the dos and don'ts of the business, and he fashions another memorable character.
The women here, too, are amazing. Balk and Paquin do fine jobs, but they give way to the radiant Kate Hudson. Kate, for those of you that don't know, is Goldie Hawn's daughter. She has Goldie's eyes, she has Goldie's shine, and she has the potential to surpass her mother's success in this business. I would almost guarantee an Oscar nod come February for Kate for her work here. Cuba Gooding benefited from a perfect supporting performance in a Crowe film, and I think Kate might make a statue run too. But, the female role that you'll fall for is Frances McDormand's. She plays Billy's mom, Elaine, and, people, lemme tell you this -- Miss Fran has literally become a character known as "Every Mother You Ever Knew In Your Life, Including Your Own." She is weird, she embarrasses the living hell out of Billy in front of everyone, and she has the strangest rules about what is good and what is bad. I swear, I had a flashback to my own momma, Charlene, several times. Mothers don't care if it's embarrassing or not, they want you to be safe and well, and, if it means you get laughed at, so be it.
It's early in the Oscar Season, I know, but I think Cameron has knocked the bar up a notch or two with this film. It's a sentimental look back at an age and an era, but the pure energetic spirit makes its bittersweet razor's edge less painful. There's almost a sad longing here, a legacy to the past that we all know is gone, but it feels so good, you don't notice the sadness.
Get off your cans, get into your best bell-bottoms, and go see Almost Famous. If you were there, this'll be a gentle last waltz down Memory Lane. If you've only heard about the early '70s, you'll be just like Billy, a wide-eyed observer to the Emerald City that was the early '70s. It was Oz done on a grander scale, and, now, Cameron Crowe is the man behind the curtain. Dorothy, this ain't Kansas... this is rock and roll!
Image copyright Dreamworks SKG.
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