Almost Famous

This film has a fond spot in my heart and if you've ever been involved in rock 'n roll journalism it will in yours too. Hence, as per usual, I will not bore you with detailing a story you no doubt already know. I will say even though Cameron Crowe apparently screws with the time frames for his personal source material the overall sentiment rings amazingly true. Kate Hudson is utterly amazing as Penny Lane and with Anna Paquin and Fairuza Balk as her sidekicks it is enough to make any red blooded male want to pick up a guitar and learn how to play...which is kind of what Billy Crudup did for real, under the watchful eye of Peter Frampton, to add authenticity to the concert footage. As a sidebar, say what you will about Peter, his FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE is still one of the greatest live albums of the era and should you get the chance to see him (check your local CASINO listings) you would be sorely remiss not to. He has a nice cameo here and on a closing note the stunning Philip Seymour Hoffman excels as the legendary Lester Bangs.......oh...and did I mention Jason Lee is here again? Amazing...before MY NAME IS EARL (which for my money is one of the damn funniest shows to come out of mainstream L.A. in years!) I never even knew this guy existed...now as I go back and watch all of these films it seems like he's everywhere...which is not a bad thing because he always seems to bring one hundered percent to everything he touches. Also of note is the fact Nancy Wilson of HEART fame provides the orginal score. Overall, a film to enjoyed with both a light and heavy heart....much like the era Crowe portrays here.