Almost Famous

"I always tell the girls, never take it seriously,

if ya never take it seriosuly, ya never get hurt,

ya never get hurt, ya always have fun,

and if you ever get lonely,

 just go to the record store and visit your friends."

This movie is a trip; taking place in 1973, and revolving around sex, drugs and rock & roll.

The real magnitude of this movie is about how much love a person

can have for a band, and their music.

The lovely Penny Lane is played by Kate Hudson, and the 15 year old, strong minded, rock and roll journalist- William Miller is played by Patrick Fugit. Other stars that appear in this movie include, Jason Lee, Frances McDormand, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Faiuza Balk, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jimmy Fallon, Rainn Wilson, and Jay Baruchel.

The movie revolves around an up-and coming band: Stillwater. The talents include- lead guitarist, Russell Hammond, lead singer, Jeff Bebe, drummer, Ed Vallencourt, and the compact bass-player Larry Turner. Throughout the film, Williams true understanding of music continues to grow, and from the beginning you can tell that his love for the music is real. But William is not the only one who is a true fan, Penny Lane and her loyal followers ‘The Band-Aids’ also share the same love and passion that only a true fan would appreciate. Its important to know that Penny and her girls are not groupies, she quotes “ ‘Groupies’ sleep with rock stars because they want to be near someone famous. We are here because of the music. We are Band Aids.” They allow William to join their clique and together they go around the country touring with Stillwater, following them to every show. And this is where William begins to fall for Penny.

The whole reason William is able to join them on their incredible tour is because of his accessibility to get the band on the cover of the Rolling Stones. The members of Stillwater frequently refers to William as ‘the enemy” because of the fact that he’s a journalist and whatever he writes, will determine how the world views the band. And all they want to do is look cool- how hard is it to make them look cool? Well it can be hard to make a band look cool when they are constantly fighting over their images, stardom and ladies. The different love triangles that go on throughout the film are nearly impossible to explain, but beautifully come together towards the end.

Add to this an overbearing mother, an incompetent manager, and a whole bunch of characters who worship music and everything it has to offer- you’ll get a film bursting with fun. If you are a music lover, or just a person who wants to be apart of something great- you must see this movie!

-Samantha-