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It is a matter of statistical fact - Cameron Crowe has never made a bad movie. From the winsome romanticism of SAY ANYTHING to the shows of skepticism of SINGLES to the staunch refusal to give in to cynicism of JERRY MAGUIRE, Crowe is, as a writer-director, the cockeyed optimist of love, show business, and now, with ALMOST FAMOUS, rock and roll.

THE PLOT:

Based on Crowe's own experiences as a teenage columnist for Rolling Stone, FAMOUS tells the story William Miller, who packs up and joins the circus that is the national tour of fictitious rock band Stillwater, hanging out with his rock idols, falling in love with a starry-eyed tour follower, and selling his soul to rock and roll in the best way imaginable.

THE WRITER/DIRECTOR:

The sincerity Crowe has shown in the past is once again excellently on display, as his belief in the potential for purity shines through: in MAGUIRE, it was getting beyond the endorsements and the bullshit that have mired down in professional sports; in FAMOUS, it's the crowbar-separation between groupie and "band aid", between sellout and rising star, between cool and uncool.

THE CAST:

In his debut role as William, Patrick Fugit is perfectly uncool; awkward in a froggy sort of way, but with an encyclopedic knowledge of rock. We here at DSFC have all at one point or other been this guy. Except Jim. He always gets action.
As William's idol and confidant, guitarist Russell Hammond, Billy Crudup adds another quiet, sincere notch to his belt (see also: WITHOUT LIMITS).

As Stillwater lead singer, Jason Lee continues as one of the coolest fuckoff actors working today. But if that was him singing, I'll eat my hat.

As Penny Lane, the head of the Band-Aids, Kate Hudson drops the annoying Goldie-Hawn's-daughter act she did in the crap 200 CIGARETTES, and instead, acts, and she wears it well.
There were other people in this movie too. Many of them were attractive. Many of them were talented. Many of them were both.

THE TECH SIDE:

As in his other films, Crowe shows himself to be a cinematic aesthete of the first order. John Toll's cinematography coupled with Danny Bramson's music supervision captures everything that is gorgeous and exciting and heartbreaking about music (check the scene of Hudson dancing in the empty aftermath of a Stillwater gig to Cat Stevens' "The Wind"). Stillwater's songs, written by Crowe and his wife, ex-Heart member Nancy Wilson, sound exactly as they should, without getting all "Hey, look at me! I'm a song from the early seventies!" (I'm looking at YOU, Tom Hanks ...)

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Probably less in-your-face with its wisdom than MAGUIRE, but if that's the case, it's not that Crowe has lost his sense of clarity or purpose - it seems more that he doesn't need to turn the boom box up to ten and hold it over his head outside your bedroom to get his point across anymore.