The film centers a thirteen year old William Miller (Patrick Fugit) who aspires to become a rock critic. His mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) disapproves, along with other things like television and rock music. After her sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) leaves home to become a stewardess in spite of her mother’s reign, she leaves him a variety of rock albums, he fancies The Who’s “Tommy” and submerges himself into a world of rock. After submitting his reviews to rock critic legend Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Bangs commissions him to write a review on Black Sabbath. After being denied entrance backstage, he befriends the opening act of Stillwater, who is (wait for it) almost famous, stuck in between touring and commercial success. Meanwhile, his impromptu love interest/groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a sixteen year old in love with the bands guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) gets him to hang out with the band. He now becomes their journalist, focusing on a new piece for Stillwater, simultaneously; he is contacted by Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen) of the Rolling Stone to be paid over a grand for a potential front-cover piece.
If the convolution of the plot and deviation from narrative isn’t bewildering enough: the movie is an asylum of subplots all concurring at the same time. William is trying desperately to get a review from the angst-ridden Russell; the band is struggling with the amassing fame; the band is struggling with the seemingly inconsistent Russell; William is delaying on his piece with the band, getting too involved with band politics; William is in love with Penny Lane, but Penny Lane is in love with Russell; the bands touring is extensive; the band lacks guidance in terms of how to manage their success; all the while, William’s mother is hounding him to come home and cut out his silly dream and to focus on his schooling. Not to spoil the ending, but it’s a happy one.
Which is why the movie is insulting. All the characters remain stoic, their attitudes unchanged, the band remains the same. The greater majority of the conflicts go unresolved; meanwhile, no one is hurt or smarter from the experience. Comedy comes off as dry and un-relatable: In the scene where William’s mother talks to Russell, he being his happy-go lucky self is rocked to the core by her severe intensity. A scene involving a tour bus leaving a prompt concert involving a groupie informing William of again, missing his mother’s call, her hitting a wall, and the bus charging through a fence is ultimately irrelevant. In a plane, the band experiences extreme turbulence, almost killing the band, they fear the end and speak all their dirty little secrets, the last one being that the drummer is gay, the storm ends, again, irrelevant. At last, Williams deflowering scene involving three groupies is portrayed by them dancing around him after dragging him out of the tub (where he was writing) and dancing around him. It was not only ridiculous, but terribly romanticized.
Which is what this “Almost Famous” seems to be doing the entire time: the feeling of touring is captured, but reality is deeply excluded. It is all so cartoonish, simplified, and cute; it’s a big rock and roll fantasy. While the story seems intriguing, it lacks substance and depth. None of the characters are believable, none of the situations are realistic, and so many human qualities are exempt from the acting and shooting. “Almost Famous” is a filmed version of an airport romance novel in film form.
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