Movie Review: Almost Famous

It wasn't big at the box office, but writer/director Cameron Crowe's 2000 film Almost Famous is a winner. It's certainly the best movie ever made about the rock and roll life, and Crowe should know; the film mirrors his time as a teenage writer for Rolling Stone. Almost Famous stars Patrick Fugit as William Miller, a 15 year old journalist who accompanies a rising rock band, Stillwater, on a nationwide tour. Hilarious and poignant, the movie follows his immersion into the decadent world of rock and rollers, with an unvarnished look at their drugs and sexual escapades. Other stars of the film include Billy Crudup as the band's lead guitarist, Kate Hudson as a "Band Aid" groupie, Frances McDormand in a winning turn as the boy's mother, and the always awesome Philip Seymour Hoffman as the legendary Lester Bangs.. Crowe won an Oscar for his screenplay, and Hudson won a well deserved Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. I never get tired watching this great film in which everything rings true. "Great art is about conflict and pain and guilt and longing and love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love."