Almost Famous (2000) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction
Added 2025-02-28 23:00:28 +0000 UTCHi everyone! I know that you were expecting a different movie reaction today: the MotM Winner's pick. I need to do some shimmying around of my schedule in lieu of me feeling like crap, then thought I was feeling better, but no I'm feeling like crap, so that will come out next week and today you get a reaction that I had planned to share next week anyway. [Direct link here.]
This was a Reactr request courtesy of boss435 - thank you so much!
Note: I watched the regular version, NOT the extended.
Please enjoy! I'm looking forward to your comments.
✦ KL
Comments
They did stop short of allowing Crowe to license "Stairway to Heaven," which they were so protective of that Paramount was forced to change the three or four notes of it you could hear in Wayne's World when a character starts playing the song as a joke only for someone to make them stop (the joke was only finally restored to its original form a couple of years ago on the 4K UHD release). That said, the denial led to a fun deleted scene you can see on many of the home video editions. In it, William plays "Stairway to Heaven" on a record for his mom, similar to the scene where the sister plays a record for her. Since they still could not use the song, there are on-screen captions instructing the viewer when to turn the song on so they can experience the scene as Crowe intended.
Tyler Foster
2025-03-04 18:13:43 +0000 UTCVery cool tidbits, thanks for sharing!
boss435
2025-03-04 03:27:08 +0000 UTCOthers have mentioned this is semi-autobiographical for Cameron Crowe, but I feel like they've undersold it a little with the "semi," which relates more to the fictional band Stillwater and the story of Penny Lane than the William Miller character. In reality, Cameron Crowe really skipped two grades and graduated at 15, under the supervision of his controlling mother. Lance Bangs was a real person, and so was Creem magazine, where he was an editor, and Crowe befriended him just like in the film. Ben Fong-Torres was, again, the real editor of Rolling Stone, and Crowe did work there at 15, although there was no deception involved. Crowe's website doesn't say exactly when he himself was promoted to editor of Rolling Stone, but it would've been between the ages of 15 and 20, before the magazine moved its offices from Los Angeles to New York City and Crowe stayed behind. Two years later, at 22, Crowe went undercover at a Los Angeles high school to learn about the current contemporary youth culture, an investigation that turned into a book, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. When the book was made into movie, Crowe wrote the screenplay, a shift which marked the beginning of his career as a screenwriter and later a director. In 1997, he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Jerry Maguire, which he also directed. His career has been on the downslope for awhile, starting with the 2005 movie Elizabethtown, but there are still several great Cameron Crowe movies for you to check out, including Maguire, Singles, and Say Anything, among others. I think this is a great movie, although (as I also wrote in my LBX review) it is a little complicated the way the movie nostalgia-washes the behavior of the bands into a crowd-pleasing movie. In the film, Penny Lane at one point claims to be 16 years old, although the movie leaves it unclear, and in reality there were indeed plenty of underage groupies at these concerts, sleeping with the bands and whatnot. I also think the perspective of Pamela Des Barres is worth reading. Although Crowe named Penny Lane after Pennie Lane Trumbull, a real person who traveled in the same circles and lived the same lifestyle as the character in the movie, Hudson apparently read Des Barres' book as part of her research. In Des Barres' view, the character in the film more closely resembles her...and she isn't totally convinced Crowe did her justice. You can read an interview with her from a couple of years ago in Vulture: https://www.vulture.com/2020/09/the-real-penny-lane-pamela-de-barres-on-almost-famous.html I don't know if you've ever listened to WTF with Marc Maron, a famous podcast where Maron, a comedian, interviews people, mostly movie stars, but he has a bit part in this movie as the promoter whose shoddy stage setup accidentally shocks Russell. As they're leaving, he screams "Lock the gates!" -- a sound clip that opens every episode of WTF. Other fun trivia: the movie almost starred Brad Pitt as Russell instead, but after a couple of weeks of rehearsals, Pitt and Crowe mutually agreed that Pitt wasn't the right fit for the role, and they ended up with Crudup instead. When Pitt left, so did Canadian star Sarah Polley, who was set to play Penny Lane. Jack Black was also considered for Lester before Hoffman was cast. In all cases, I think the movie turned out for the better as it is. Last but not least, a couple of minor notes: When Jeff says "Your looks have become a problem!" to Russell, it's basically a joke for the viewer; Jeff is basically complaining that Russell is so handsome people are paying more attention them than him, which he thinks he deserves as the lead singer. Early in the movie, Penny makes it clear that she *never* tells anyone her real name, so it is no surprise that Russell doesn't know it. The real surprise is that she does tell William what it is after he saves her from the Quaalude overdose, evidence that even if she doesn't love William the way he loves her, he shares a more intimate connection with her than Russell ever will. Although William is initially told not to tell the band they're going to be on the cover when it's only a possibility, he is indeed given permission to inform them right before he does so.
Tyler Foster
2025-03-03 21:24:44 +0000 UTCIn this case, there is no availability issue with the longer version. There is only one DVD release in the United States without it, and every subsequent release I'm aware of has included both cuts, and both cuts are, as far as I can tell, widely available on digital platforms.
Tyler Foster
2025-03-03 20:53:21 +0000 UTCAlmost Famous is by far my all-time favorite film of rock 'n' roll, followed closely by Detroit Rock City (and I'm not even a KISS fan!). They're just so fun and the soundtracks always slay! I mean, c'mon, the "Tiny Dancer" scene? Y'all know everybody singing along to that every time.
Vincent Hollow
2025-03-01 10:49:05 +0000 UTCahh this one's been on my watchlist for ages... guess I'm watching along with ya!
Nabila Rahmani
2025-03-01 08:32:08 +0000 UTCSome of my favorite films and shows are music related like Bohemian Rhapsody, Daisy Jones & The Six, Rocketman, etc. But I definitely think this one tops them all.
boss435
2025-03-01 05:07:08 +0000 UTCSame 🙌🏼
boss435
2025-03-01 05:03:54 +0000 UTCIt's in my top 5. Very good movie.
Cabmonk
2025-03-01 04:51:57 +0000 UTCJust finished your reaction…. absolutely loved it. So glad you liked it. Thank you! Yeah this movie is on my all time favorites list. Such a good time. Your assumption as to why I didn’t request the Bootleg Cut (extended version) was spot on — wouldn’t be as accessible to the community. But definitely worth checking out if you ever want to rewatch the film.
boss435
2025-03-01 04:22:38 +0000 UTCI am music lover and I think this such a beautiful movie. Some of my favorite moments are simple but amazing like the Tiny Dancer bus scene. But my personal fav is when Penny is twirling around in the auditorium, dancing to the music in her mind when she thought no one is looking. It’s only a few seconds long and easy to overlook but it makes me smile and reminds me to enjoy those moments. And of course every scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman is top tier “Of course I’m home, I’m uncool.”
RichieRich
2025-03-01 03:27:16 +0000 UTCAs was mentioned before, this is semi-autobiographical for Cameron Crowe. He wrote this movie as a love letter to the music he grew up with and wrote about. He was a young journalist and live a live not far off from the movie. A cool fact that I always appreciated was the Led Zeppelin never licensed any of their music for movies. Because Cameron knew them they allowed him to use their music. Get better soon.
DarthChef
2025-03-01 01:07:07 +0000 UTCHope you're feeling better! Always really enjoyed this movie...the extended one is good, but it made sense to me why most of the stuff was cut--not bad, just repetitive and/or slowed down the flow. Kind of wish Patrick Fugit was in more stuff. The movie does really well having him be a hapless passenger in all this without robbing the character of anything. His worship of the music--of being the fan--is what drives this, only to have him actually be a cutthroat journalist in the end. Also, Frances McDormand is one my all time favorite actors--so is Philip Seymour Hoffman, but, you know--and she steals every fucking moment of this movie. What's really cool is that Cameron Crowe, the writer/director, actually lived this back in the 1970s, only he was touring with the likes of Led Zeppelin. Apparently, the line "I am a golden god!" which Billy Crudup's character denies that he says, was actually said by Robert Plant, who gleefully admitted that he did say it when he saw the movie for the first time. Good shit.
Steve Mercier
2025-03-01 00:03:02 +0000 UTCOh no, not you too! Hope you feel better real soon. Don’t overdo it with your screen time, it’s those darn computer viruses that’ll get you…😝
Bryan Dempsey
2025-02-28 23:18:53 +0000 UTCOh yes this is a fantastic movie!!! The chemistry, the music, the story oh man it's perfect. Hope you feel better soon, KL! Lots of hugs and well wishes from the fandom!
Nathan Jasper, the Artist Formerly Known as Primary
2025-02-28 23:08:42 +0000 UTCNo worries, hope you feel better. This is a great movie I didn't expect to see a reaction for, so that's pretty cool.
BJ Stephens
2025-02-28 23:03:14 +0000 UTC
