Release Year: 2000

Genre: Drama, Music, Romance

Director: Cameron Crowe

Writer: Cameron Crowe

Stars: Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit

It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you want to build a time machine and book it straight for the '70s to soak in rock and roll until your ears bleed.

At the very least, it will make you want to download the soundtrack.

Almost Famous tells the story of a fifteen-year-old aspiring rock journalist who lands a gig covering an up-and-coming band called Stillwater in 1973. The young writer goes on tour with the band, befriends a feisty groupie—sorry, Band Aid—named Penny Lane, and has the coming-of-age experience of a lifetime. "Jealous" probably doesn't come close to how his classmates back in high school must feel.

The story is all the more remarkable in that it's semi-autobiographical. Yep, filmmaker Cameron Crowe actually got his start as a teenaged rock journalist covering legendary rock-and-roll bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who for Rolling Stone magazine.  It's almost not even fair that he went on to become an Oscar-winning filmmaker on top of that.

Some of us just have the gift. 

The rest of us write for Shmoop.

Anyway, while Stillwater is fictitious, the band—in its appearance, attitude, and yes, its music—totally nails the energy and atmosphere of the time. Consider Almost Famous a crash course in the rock-and-roll scene of the early '70s. But above all else, consider it a love letter to the music itself.

So, if the whole thing feels a little sugarcoated, just remember this: our protagonist William, just like teenaged Cameron, is totally innocent. He's a kid in a candy shop. Of course, instead of candy, it's sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But it's through William's idealistic, naïve eyes that this story is told. In this sense, Almost Famous gives us the excuse to be starry-eyed music lovers all over again—just like William and Cameron.

This is a movie from the heart. It's personal. It's emotional. Yeah, it's a little sentimental, but it's so genuine and soulful that we couldn't care less. Heck, we all love great music, and we all love a great story. Fortunately for us, Almost Famous has all of the above. 

So go ahead and press play already—"set you free."

Who doesn't love music?

Almost Famous captures a turning point in the music industry. Rock and roll in 1973 was at a crossroads, as corporate America began to see profit potential in the genre. Folks like Lester Bangs believed that the commercialization of rock and roll had horrific consequences for the integrity of the music. "They're trying to buy respectability for a form that is gloriously and righteously dumb," Bangs argues, referring to this trend. (Let's be real, though: with dance moves like these, it's pretty clear that Lester is all about the dumb.)

In many ways, Lester Bangs predicted the future: the corporate presence is totally apparent in the music scene of today. Almost Famous, on the other hand, celebrates genuine expression, and music for music's sake—the spirit of rock and roll that will never be suppressed or exploited for material gain.

At the end of the day, Almost Famous is a love letter to music, a tribute to the unique and profound power this art form has to transform, connect, and inspire us. The movie itself is beautifully composed, passionate, and heartfelt—just like the rock and roll it venerates. "Music, you know, true music—not just rock n roll," Lester Bangs explains, "—it chooses you." So turn up the stereo. Rock out. Soak it in. Get inspired. Enjoy yourself. And go ahead and fall in love with music all over again.