Entertainment
The Raunchy, R-Rated 2000s Comedy That Won Acclaim By Being Over The Top
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Every now and then, there are movies that bomb at the box office but are still considered absolute masterpieces. One such film is Almost Famous (2000), which impressed every major critic (including Roger Ebert, the original film GOAT) and earned two Golden Globe awards and four Academy Award nominations. The success of the film is as ironic as it is startling: after all, it’s not every day that movies about sex, drugs, and rock and roll bring home the gold.
The secret to this film’s unexpected success is Cameron Crowe, the ambitious director who created what might be the most personal film ever made. The director channeled his own experiences as a Rolling Stone journalist into this movie, including some unforgettable tours with bands like the Allman Brothers. The result is a movie whose nostalgia for a bygone day is impossibly infectious. To see what the hype is about, you don’t need a VIP ticket or backstage pass. All you have to do is stream Almost Famous for free on Tubi!
On The Road Again
The premise of Almost Famous is that a brilliant 15-year-old boy falls in love with rock music, and he ends up interviewing Black Sabbath for Rolling Stone. Impressed by his work, his editor hires him to write a review of Stillwater, the band that was opening for Sabbath. This means hitting the road with the band, where the young writer learns more about these louder-than-life musicians and Penny Lane, the captivating leader of their groupies (though she prefers the term “band-aides”). Along the way, he learns that meeting your heroes can be painful, but not nearly as heartwrenching as falling in love.
The cast of Almost Famous is a veritable “who’s who” of Millennials’ favorite actors, including Zooey Deschanel, Jason Lee, Anna Paquin, and even Jimmy Fallon. There are also some real heavy hitters in the leading roles, including Billy Crudup (otherwise best known for Watchmen) as a tempestuous lead guitarist and Kate Hudson (otherwise best known for How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days) as his adoring groupie. But the biggest revelation of the film is Patrick Fugit (otherwise best known for Gone Girl), making his feature film debut as a young man who’s trying to find himself but keeps getting lost in the music.
More Than A Feeling
Sadly, Almost Famous was a box office bomb when it first premiered. Against a budget of $60 million, the movie earned only $47.4 million. However, it was a critical darling (more on this soon), and the movie soon became a cult hit on home video. While Cameron Crowe never released a follow-up film, he did write the stage musical adaptation of Almost Famous, which premiered in 2018 before later moving to Broadway.
Reviewers took one look at Almost Famous and decided this was one rollicking rockstar of a film. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 91 percent, with critics praising the movie for its easygoing story and ensemble performances from actors such as Kate Hudson and young Patrick Fugit. They also commended the film for its warmth. This is director Cameron Crowe’s love letter to a simpler time, and by the end of this film, you’ll agree with the movie’s implicit argument that it was a far better time.
A Celebration Of A Bygone Era
In many ways, the nostalgia factor is the biggest draw of Almost Famous. As a movie made over a quarter of a century ago, it holds special interest to any film buff wanting to step back into the pre-streaming glory days of ambitious blockbuster dramas. At the same time, the movie is a sloppy love letter to the ‘70s and everything that made that decade so groovy. To his credit, Crowe pulls it off, making this era seem like an impossibly vibrant counterpoint to the dreary drudgeries of the modern world.
Personally, I’m an ‘80s kid who never felt any real desire to live in a different time or place. But the sheer passion behind Almost Famous always makes me wish I could have been like the film’s protagonist: a wunderkind music junkie, coming of age as both a writer and a man on the road trip of a lifetime. He is surrounded by both beauty and fame, tempting him to all manner of sins along the way. However, he is both cleansed and tormented by something far more potent than carnal desire: a profound love of music.
Falling For The American Girl
Needless to say, Almost Famous is particularly perfect for anyone who loves music. If you spend all day with your headphones on, it’s because you understand one of this movie’s most elemental lessons: that nothing captures the beauty and the heartbreak of the human condition quite like a great song. In this film, music becomes a kind of divine force: something that can fill men with inspiration or simply drive them crazy. Either way, they sacrifice themselves on the altar of rock and roll so the rest of us heathens have something to believe in.
Above all else, Almost Famous functions as arguably the best coming-of-age story ever filmed. Our young protagonist experiences what most teenage boys can only dream of: the chance to tour the country in the company of rock stars and the women who love them. Along the way, he gets to make a name for himself by writing for one of the biggest publications in the country. But he soon discovers that what he wants and what he needs are two very different animals and that there is no pain quite as keen as growing up too fast.
Like A Rolling Stone
Too young to be a man and too experienced to be a boy, he finds himself adrift before realizing something profound. Namely, that in writing the story of this up-and-coming band, he is writing his own ticket, crafting a future he is passionate about rather than the one his mother has all planned out. He longs to escape suburban doldrums, transforming himself with a love of writing that will sustain him long after the beer-soaked tour has finally ended. It’s a story of romance, rebellion, and revolution. Honestly, does it get more rock and roll than that?
Almost Famous is offering you a chance to tour with the band, but are you going to take the ride? Even if you don’t have cash, grass, or a$$, this is one occasion when you really can ride for free. All you have to do is snag the remote from your favorite groupie and stream Cameron Crowe’s cinematic masterpiece on Tubi, completely for free!