In one sentence, "Almost Famous" deserved its Best Writing Oscar to a T. It also deserved its Best Supporting Actress nominations for Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand. I totally believed both of them--Hudson as the beautiful, mysterious Penny Lane and McDormand as Elaine Miller, the overprotective but loving mom.
But it also should have been recognized for other actors as well. Jason Lee and Billy Crudup were amazing as members of Stillwater, Patrick Fugit was great as William Miller, and Zooey Deschanel was awesome in her almost cameo role as Anita. Also, Cameron Crowe should have been nominated for Best Director. Truthfully, I think "Almost Famous" deserved at least a nomination for Best Picture.
The gist: 15-year-old William Miller (Fugit) gets to write for Rolling Stone and travel with Stillwater. Along with them travel sexy groupies known as Band-Aids. Among them is Penny Lane (Hudson), a pretty but secretive teen who uses the name from a famous Beatles song to avoid her real name. As William gets to know this young woman way out of his league, he starts to fall for her. Unfortunately, she won't tell him how old she is, and Russell Hammond (Crudup), Stillwater's guitarist, also wants to be with her. To complicate things further, both the Band-Aids and Stillwater use drugs and do many other obscene things (including "deflowering" William)--many of them while he's on the phone with his mom (McDormand)--and William can never get a second alone with anyone of Stillwater to interview them.
My favorite scenes are the "Tiny Dancer" scene, the scene where they think the plane is going to crash, the scene where the sister comes home, and when Penny Lane sends Russell to William's house instead of hers. The deflowering scene is also great because you can feel the electrifying chemistry between William and Penny as they stare at each other. I think the scene that really reflects Kate Hudson's role is when she tries to commit suicide and William literally has to hold her up.
Patrick Fugit hasn't been in many films, but since this, he's probably wanted for many more. And Kate Hudson was originally cast as Anita, but wanted to read for Penny Lane. I think she, Fugit, Jason Lee, Billy Crudup, and Frances McDormand are the glue that holds this masterpiece together, not to mention the spectacular directing job by Crowe. Anyone and everyone should love "Almost Famous"---10/10
But it also should have been recognized for other actors as well. Jason Lee and Billy Crudup were amazing as members of Stillwater, Patrick Fugit was great as William Miller, and Zooey Deschanel was awesome in her almost cameo role as Anita. Also, Cameron Crowe should have been nominated for Best Director. Truthfully, I think "Almost Famous" deserved at least a nomination for Best Picture.
The gist: 15-year-old William Miller (Fugit) gets to write for Rolling Stone and travel with Stillwater. Along with them travel sexy groupies known as Band-Aids. Among them is Penny Lane (Hudson), a pretty but secretive teen who uses the name from a famous Beatles song to avoid her real name. As William gets to know this young woman way out of his league, he starts to fall for her. Unfortunately, she won't tell him how old she is, and Russell Hammond (Crudup), Stillwater's guitarist, also wants to be with her. To complicate things further, both the Band-Aids and Stillwater use drugs and do many other obscene things (including "deflowering" William)--many of them while he's on the phone with his mom (McDormand)--and William can never get a second alone with anyone of Stillwater to interview them.
My favorite scenes are the "Tiny Dancer" scene, the scene where they think the plane is going to crash, the scene where the sister comes home, and when Penny Lane sends Russell to William's house instead of hers. The deflowering scene is also great because you can feel the electrifying chemistry between William and Penny as they stare at each other. I think the scene that really reflects Kate Hudson's role is when she tries to commit suicide and William literally has to hold her up.
Patrick Fugit hasn't been in many films, but since this, he's probably wanted for many more. And Kate Hudson was originally cast as Anita, but wanted to read for Penny Lane. I think she, Fugit, Jason Lee, Billy Crudup, and Frances McDormand are the glue that holds this masterpiece together, not to mention the spectacular directing job by Crowe. Anyone and everyone should love "Almost Famous"---10/10