7.9/10
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829 user 149 critic

Almost Famous (2000)

A high-school boy is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.

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Won 1 Oscar. Another 52 wins & 103 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

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Storyline

William Miller is a 15-year-old kid hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with and write about Stillwater, an up and coming rock band. This wonderfully witty coming-of-age film follows William as he falls face first to confront life, love, and lingo. Written by Filmtwob <webmaster@filmfreak.co.za>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Experience it. Enjoy it. Just don't fall for it.


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and brief nudity | See all certifications »

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Details

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Release Date:

22 September 2000 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Something Real  »

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Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,314,646, 17 September 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$32,534,850

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,848,839
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (director's cut) | (DVD extended cut)

Sound Mix:

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Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The real life Lester Bangs died of a drug overdose at a fairly young age. Eerily, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who portrays him in this film, would later die of a drug overdose as well. See more »

Goofs

On the bus when everyone is singing "Tiny Dancer", William says something to Penny. Penny already had her mouth open to sing the next lyrics "Hold me closer." However, the next line is actually "Count the headlights on the highway." See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Elaine Miller: I can't believe you wanna be Atticus Finch. Oh, that makes me feel so good.
Young William: I like him.
See more »

Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, one can hear a record changer playing the outgoing groove of a record, the needle lifting, and the player shutting off. See more »

Connections

References Rude Boy (1980) See more »

Soundtracks

Search and Destroy
Written by Iggy Pop & James Williamson
Performed by The Stooges
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

 
"It's all happening"
27 March 2006 | by See all my reviews

"Almost famous" is so great that I don't know where to begin. It means so much to me; personally, cinematographically, visually…It means so much when it comes to acting and wonderful performances, when it comes to fantastic original screenplays that come from a person's mind without being taken from anything we already know.

This was probably one of the first movies to ever blow me away. When I was getting and idea of what cinema meant and which where the good films; this one left me impressed for more than a week. The same occurred later with "Traffic", "The Truman Show", "Big Fish" and others. It was with this film that I understood that to like a movie it has to mean something to you; besides meaning something for the ones who did it or the ones involved in it.

It meant something for me mainly because of the music. It was during the main credits written by hand in a paper that I felt something, but then, when William's (Patrick Fugit) sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) leaves the house to become a stewardess, and tells him: "Look under your bed; it will set you free"; I was introduced to a new world.

William's mother Elaine (an excellent Frances McDormand) raised him and her sister forbidding them to use bad words, making them go to school, making them religious, but most importantly not letting them listen to rock music. This all changes when William plays The Who's "Tommy" a the light of a candle. Some years later he is writing rock articles and he knows enough to talk with the best music critic in the United States: Lester Bangs (a brilliant and Oscar-caliber supporting performance by the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

They talk for a while and the critic says: "Well, I've got to go; I can't spend my whole day talking to my fans". But then, with a lot of intelligence, a camera shoots a restaurant, and they are both still talking. Bangs gives the kid an assignment: to write about Deep Purple. The kid goes to the concert in his home town and tries to enter backstage saying he's a reporter of "Creem".

His multiple attempts fail and he is called by some girls who are laughing constantly. These are the Band Aids, and that is the moment in the film during which I fell in love with Kate Hudson. She plays Penny Lane (although that's not her real name), the girl who said women should be with musicians just for the love of the music, not sex or free rides.

She plays her as an enigmatic and mysterious person who actually is lost and doesn't know or have another place to be in. And I'm talking, personally, about one of the best performances I've witnessed in my whole life. This personal list of best performances is short, and Hudson's Penny Lane is in it, and she deserved an Oscar for it; and many will agree.

Because of how life goes, William stays alone outside…Until Stillwater arrives, the kid uses his musical knowledge and he is inside backstage before he knows it. Then, before we know, he forgets about Deep Purple, he is touring with Stillwater and writing an article for Rolling Stone magazine that could be considered for the cover; and William is only 15 years old.

During the tour I felt what they called the "buzz". It was very inspiring to watch the band, each of its members, all the time with a guitar in their hands. Sometimes they were playing together; sometimes each of them was doing his own things. There were pianos and keyboards in each room they stepped foot in; there were good and bad live moments, just as good offstage moments and horrible fights; probably mended with just singing "Tiny Dancer".

Music is the main factor, as this band travels through the country. All of the members of the band we get to identify, but the one that obligatorily highlights is the guitarist Russell Hammond, played superbly by Billy Crudup. The lead singer is also important and he is played by a long-haired Jason Lee, with the guts of a rock persona.

The regretful moments we can't be without...Like Russell's party in Topeka and his last lines if he would die: "I'm on drugs"; or the plain about to crash and confessions like: "I'm gay". This was all perfectly crafted by the hand of Cameron Crowe's peaceful camera and the fantastic screenplay he wrote going back in time to his own similar experience. The man got the best from Tom Cruise, that's already a lot: and "Almost Famous" is his legacy; a gem and one of the best films I've seen in my life.


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