Almost Famous (2000)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Almost Famous (2000) – C. Crowe

First things first, I accidentally watched the Director’s Cut of the film which is 162 minutes long (40 minutes longer than the released film, which I haven’t seen).  I’m not certain whether the extra time benefits the film or reduces its quality.  There were a few places where things felt long or indulgent.  But, of course, the whole premise is pretty indulgent – this is the story of Cameron Crowe’s experience as a teen journalist for Rolling Stone touring with The Allman Brothers (here replaced by a fictional band, Stillwater, starring Billy Crudup and Jason Lee).  Crowe wrote and directed the film and gives himself a pretty glorified part.  Moreover, taking place in the early 1970s, the action onscreen is also indulgent, in that there is lots of drinking and drug use (although this is mostly implied because the film seems somehow to be aiming for family friendly, despite the debauchery).  Which brings me to the question of whether this film feels “right” in the era of #MeToo.  In fact, it doesn’t.  Kate Hudson is the groupie with the heart of gold and, although the film acknowledges that she is treated badly by the band, it doesn’t really make any effort to condemn that treatment, at least not strenuously.  Instead, it is nostalgic good times all the way and the rockin’ soundtrack doesn’t hurt that sentiment one bit.  Crowe spends his time trying to depict the emotional journey of the hero (himself, played wide-eyed by Patrick Fugit) and he does manage to capture wistful naivete pretty well (a la your typical coming-of-age story), including a delayed coda that makes it all right.  A few scenes do suggest that the film could have verged into Spinal Tap territory, but it doesn’t (too bad).  However, this may be the only fiction film to ever have someone play Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and that’s worth the price of admission on its own.