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“Almost Famous” (Directed by Cameron Crowe, 2000)

As a teenager Cameron Crowe toured with his rock heroes, lost his virginity, fell in love and wrote about it all for Rolling Stone. Decades later, he translated his experiences with the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other essential 70s rock bands into film offering a portrait of the “death rattle” of rock and roll through the eyes of the young William Miller (Patrick Fugit), as Crowe incarnate.

Part coming-of-age tale, part story of musicians dealing with success and part exaltation of rock, “Almost Famous” at times feels too nostalgic and the main characters lack depth, but the colorful supporting characters, classic rock soundtrack and visual appeal embody the particular feeling of a specific moment in music history in an entertaining way.

As far as leading men go, Fugit as the innocent teenage rock writer falls short of the dynamic presence necessary to garner the audience’s attention in a world where everyone is over-the-top. Fugit, in his first major film role, delivers his dialogue stiffly and appears too awkward and uncomfortable, even in scenes where he has supposedly found his stride. His best moments come when he’s speaking with Rolling Stone editors who are unaware he is only 15 years old. Trying on a deep voice and feeding them lines given to him from Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Fugit shows how hard William is trying to be the person they expect while showcasing how clueless he really is about the world he’s trying to break into.

Billy Crudup as the “guitarist with mystique” and Kate Hudson as the “band aid” who loves him remain flat and one-note throughout the film. Even as she is attempting suicide, Hudson is flighty and giggly, missing an opportunity to bring a deeper emotion to a character whose inner conflict is shown more through the writing in the script than the actual acting. The script, however, falters with Crudup’s character when his emotional breakdown (jumping off the roof of a house in Kansas) is resolved with an Elton John song.

The supporting characters weaved into the story are what really make Crowe’s rock landscape pop. Frances McDormand as William’s mother brings a neurotic energy to the screen, yet at times extreme calm and acceptance of her son’s situation such as when she openly admits to her class, “My son has been kidnapped by rock stars.” In between is a rotating entourage of influences on William’s life— Zooey Deschanel as his older sister rebelling against their mother to become a stewardess, Anna Paquin and Fairuza Balk as the hilarious and outlandish “band aids” and Terry Chen as the hip, smooth-taling Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres. Most notably is Hoffman’s Bangs, played electrically. The introduction to the character, shown throwing a Doors record across the room then rocking out to Iggy Pop, shows his explosive love of music.

The character of Bangs in “Almost Famous,” based as accurately as Crowe could on the man himself, serves as William’s mentor and speaks to rock criticism at the time being a seductive field. When it came down to it, William was trying to be a critic, but got there by being a fan, a dangerous thing according to Bangs. As shown at the beginning of the film when William first meets the band Stillwater, musicians didn’t think very highly of music journalists, they were “the enemy,” unless like William, they were praising everything the band did.

Crowe was a fan, highlighting his love of music through the soundtrack. Without the music the story would have lacked authenticity and at times, the music even helps move the story along such as with Deschanel’s use of Simon and Garfunkel’s “America” to tell why she’s leaving home and uses everyone from Joni Mitchell to Led Zepplin throughout the film.

A steady rotation of great rock songs against Crowe’s bright and visually detailed scenes make “Almost Famous” work best as a glorified music video showcasing a specific time, place and feeling in the history of rock music.