Almost Famous (Movie Review)

Almost Famous (2000)

Have you ever thought at a movie was all hype, and wondered what all the fuss whas about - and then watched it, and been blown away? That's what happened to me when I watched Almost Famous over the weekend, so I decided I had to post a review!

I had pretty much no desire to see this movie when it first came out, and I can't even remember why it was on my netflix queue other than out of a vague notion that I should watch it someday. When it arrived, I procrastinated on watching it, and ended up popping it in to keep myself amused while folding laundry. I was certainly in for a surprise! From the moment the movie started I was completely hooked!

Almost Famous is about William Miller, a 15-year-old high school graduate (yeah... his mother had him skip more than a couple of grades...), who decides he wants to be a music journalist and manages to grab an opportunity to write an article about the band Stillwater for Rolling Stone. William goes on the road with the band, observing them behind the scenes and befriending Penny Lane, one of the band's groupies (although she calls herself a "Band-Aide").

This kind of story normally wouldn't appeal to me all that much, but it was really well done and the acting was great - I was surprised to enjoy Kate Hudson as Penny Lane, and was thrilled when I recognized Frances McDormand (who I last saw in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) as William's mother. I also have to say that although I'm not normally a fan of the long-haired rock look, Billy Crudup definitely made it work for me ;) However, the acting was fantastic all around, and when I finished this movie I immediately decided that I needed to sing its praises and recommend it to all movie lovers. So go watch this movie!