ALMOST FAMOUS

 

THREE STARS – Thought-provoking

 

 

       When fame is the goal of people’s lives, their souls are in danger.  The danger comes not only from surrendering one’s self to the fabrications fans will applaud, but also from feeling entitled to ignore the morality expected of the less famous, including betraying the trust and commitments of marriage and friendships.  In the end, fame creates an emptiness and loneliness that torments the soul.

       This truth is graphically presented in the loosely autobiographical film written by Cameron Crowe titled:  “Almost Famous.”

       Remembering his first writing assignment as a teenager in the 70’s, Crowe creates a likable and naive 15 year old boy who is given the opportunity to write a piece for Rolling Stone magazine on a rock group Stillwater that is on the verge of being famous.

       The perspective of the film is its to see both Stillwater and fame’s allure through the eyes of innocent naiveté.

       William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is about to graduate from high school at the age of 15 because he is driven by his single mom who, as a compulsive professor of psychology, controls her children like rats in her laboratory’s maze.

       William’s older sister, Anita (Zooey Deschanel), rebels when she is told she cannot listen to rock music and she leaves home when she turns 18.  But instead of discarding her rock albums, she secretly gives them to William.  This is the beginning of his passion as William becomes an expert reviewer of Rock and Roll bands.

       When his skill as a writer lands him the assignment of traveling with Stillwater and writing an insider’s view, it becomes both a siren’s call for his own self-destruction as a writer as well as a time of losing his innocence to their jealousy, immorality, adultery and greed.

       In one revealing scene, as William flies in the band’s personal plane and they enter a dangerous thunderstorm, it becomes clear that they are all going to die.  In that moment of facing their mortality, the members of the band begin to strip away the facade fame has produced and begin to authentically confess their sins, admit their failures and express their true feelings about one another.

       Painfully vulnerable, this moment of reality which breaks into their lives becomes all the more devastating when the pilot gets them out of danger and they enter back into their superficial world having unintentionally exposed themselves to one another.

       A corollary theme Crowe weaves into the film is through the presence of Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), the founder of the “band-aides.”  These are women who want to be with the rock stars “for the love of the music.” 

       Explaining that she finds people who are famous as being more “interesting,” Penny becomes a victim of her own desire to be close to fame.  She is used, abused and ultimately alone.

       Popular music, even more than movies, has a profound impact on the maturing values of every young person in our culture.   Most of us can remember fondly the words of songs we knew when we were young.  It is no wonder then that our popular culture creates idols out of rock stars.

       Songs about love by people who don’t know how to love, is the ultimate deception. 

       The desire for significance, of which fame is a tempting substitute, is found in reality from living deeply committed and faithful lives.

 

(words: 556)

 ________________