So to start the year strong I thought it was a good idea to kick off the year with watching one of my “Blindspot” movies for 2015. I had never watched it and the only thing I read about it that it had to do with the rock scene. As that really isn’t my genre of music I never watched it. But as these things go I kept seeing it being reviewed positively by other bloggers and decided to add it to my “to watch” list and have now come around to seeing it.
Not knowing anything about it I was very surprised going in to see the amount of names of well-known actors who are in this movie: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Frances McDormand, Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel and Jason Lee to name just a few. And it turned out those names aren’t the only good thing about this film.
This semi-autobiographical movie which tells the story of 15-year old William (Michael Angarano), who wants to be a writer and gets a chance to write a piece for Rolling Stone magazine. It manages to take the viewer along into his experience. The excitement of being able to interview someone, the disappointment when it doesn’t turn out what you hoped it would be and the thrills and growth of the character once he finds his interview subject in the form of the band Stillwater. He joins them on their Almost Famous tour in order to get material for writing a piece about them. He also meets Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), whose sheer charisma and mysterious aura attracts William, despite her having some unknown connection to the band.
My fears of this being a movie about rock was completely wrong. Even though the story is set against the backdrop of seventies rock it is never about that. It explores the complex relationship that exists between band members and the pressure being in a band puts upon each individual, having to let the dynamics of the group to take precedence over their personal feelings. It shows how a dream of becoming a writer can be a scary thing when it suddenly turns into reality. That is something that is very recognizable as a movie blogger. As I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now you are contacted by directors, get opportunities to go to press events and going to those sometimes can feel a bit unreal based on you just doing something you enjoy. The advice Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character gives William: “Be honest, and unmerciful” is very good as it is easy to just write nice things if you have contact with someone directly. You must try to not have that influence your true opinion about something you have watched.
Almost Famous also shows the world of the groupie and rockstar life. It does all this with so much heart and charm that you never notice the two hour running time. The cast is excellent and Kate Hudson commands every scene she is in (as does McDormand). I’m happy that my first movie out of my Blindspot series turned out to be such an amazing film, that I can’t wait to see if the other ones are just as good.
I’m glad you liked it! Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies. It really connects with anyone who’s passionate about any type of art. I love the idealistic way that Cameron Crowe looks at the love for music, which makes sense since it’s semi-autobiographical.
Yeah, it was a very pleasant surprise! Yeah, it does have that way of looking at it, with them making clear that it is not about the money.
Almost Famous is an excellent way to kick off your Blind Spot challenge for this year. It is a highly enjoyable film. Yes, Kate Hudson completely owns it.
I think it was as well. I have not seen too much of Kate Hudson, but she was awesome in it.
Nice one! I find Cameron Crowe can be a bit syrupy at times but I did like this film when I saw it. Good soundtrack too! I have read a fair bit of Lester Bangs’ old stuff, so to see PSH play him was pretty cool, even if he isn’t in the film that much.
I can understand that sentiment. I don’t know any of Lester Bang’s work outside the movie, but that’s because he was doing mostly rock from what I understand. Plus I didn’t read Rolling Stone.
Definitely a great flick to kick off the new year with! There’s so much ultimate perfection in this film; I’m glad you got to see it.
I am as well Courtney. Let’s see how these other ones turn out. Also decided to watch something I would normally never watch, which was Mean Girls, and I’ll have to admit that for a high school comedy it was actually pretty good.
Great review! I loved this film, and it’s the only good performance Kate Hudson has ever given, so there’s that. lol
Hahaha, well I have not seen too many movies that have her in it, so I’ll take your word for it 😉
This really is a wonderful little movie, one that has grown on me over the years. I love Hudson’s spirited performance…so much life. Nice review. Hope the rest of your Blind Spots are as rewarding as this one!
It was a first time for me and it immediately got me.
I hope the other ones don’t disappoint either!
Hi Nostra! Nice to see your first Blindspot lives up to the hype. I actually haven’t seen this yet but since it’s now on Netflix I should give it a go.
I saw it on there as well, so that was the reason to immediately watch it. Only thing about it was that the aspect ratio seemed to be a bit off. Not a huge problem, but a small annoyance.
Great start to the year, Nostra. This is such a great film. The writing and acting are top class and Crowe really captures the feel for the times.
Thank you Mark, think it is a good start as well 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed Almost Famous so much, Nostra! I love that film, and I think it’s a perfect way to start off your year!
I thought so too!
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