Summer of Netflix Day 38 - Almost Famous

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Joel: You know what I ended up really liking about this movie? It is abundantly clear in every scene of this movie how important of a project it was for writer/director Cameron Crowe. There are a lot of movies that are described as a “love letter” to this thing or that thing, but this is very much a case of this movie being a love letter to Crowe’s experience with rock ‘n’ roll and the culture surrounding it that he experienced. It’s nearly impossible not to be taken up with the director’s love for the subject and enjoy the movie through his eyes. Almost Famous is incredibly heartfelt.



Alexa: Almost Famous has always been my favorite Cameron Crowe movie, but it’s probably been years since I’ve watched it until now. And I fell in love with it all over again. So what exactly is so special about this movie? Well, in the words of Russell Hammond, “To begin with… everything.” The authentic tone and retro aesthetic that Crowe creates here are infectious, and he brings out the best in an exceedingly talented ensemble. Have Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson ever been more magnetic onscreen? How did Patrick Fugit not become a bigger star after this? And could Frances McDormand be any more delightfully cringe-worthy (“Don’t take drugs!”) as an overbearing mother with a full heart? (Not to mention all the bit parts I somehow never realized offered an early glimpse at some now-famous people – Jay Baruchel! Rainn Wilson! Eric Stonestreet! Jimmy Fallon!) In short, it’s an exquisite love letter to rock ‘n’ roll and arts journalism, to the transformative power of words and music, to being young and alive and feeling like anything is possible until reality sets in, but not before an extraordinary experience leaves its mark on you forever.

Chris: One of those movies that I was almost embarrassed to say that I hadn’t seen it until now and I don’t really have a good excuse as to why I waited so long. I enjoyed it, I thought the real driving force behind it was the great cast that was assembled. The “behind the scenes” movie about music in the 70’s could’ve gotten pretty dark fairly quickly and Almost Famous dipped their toes in it in a way but still managed to keep it mostly upbeat and steadily moving forward. Movies along themes such as this one are either super dark or overly rose-colored to the point where it’s simply unbelievable, like those bio-pics about real people but skip all the negative stuff they didn’t wanna talk about. Almost Famous finds a nice middle ground so that the movie doesn’t bum people out but yet still seems believable.


Your Viewing Homework for Tomorrow: Don't Be a Menace

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