Thursday, March 4, 2010

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!

11 comments:

  1. I've completely forgotten about this movie. I saw it when it came out and I remember enjoying it. Your review makes me want to see it again!

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  2. Hi, I've given you an award, here you go: http://intetextualchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-very-first-award.html

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  3. Great movie! It was recently on one of the cable channels.

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  4. Dana,
    I've given you an award at my blog! I hope you'll pop over to accept it and pass it on!

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  5. I've been looking for a good movie to watch over the wknd and this sounds perfect. Thanks for the review!

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  6. I felt the same way about this movie when it first came out. Had no interest, but then saw it and loved it so much I bought it!

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  7. I've never seen this movie, but I have heard of it. It never struck me as a type of movie I'd enjoy, but after reading your review I want to see it! I'll look for it the next time I go to rent a movie.

    Emidy
    Une Parole

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  8. Love this movie! My daughter is quite the little band groupie so we teasingly call her "Penny Lane." Although we sure wouldn't be laughing if she really turned out to be like Penny Lane!

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  9. I just saw this movie this week and LOVED it! The idea of a 15-year-old writer really appealed, obviously. :)

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  10. I really enjoyed Almost Famous, more than I thought i would. A great flick.

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