Almost Famous
Encyclopedia
Almost Famous is a 2000 musical
comedy-drama film
written and directed by Cameron Crowe
and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone
magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater (named for an eponymous actual band
), and his efforts to get his first cover story published. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.
The film is based on Crowe's experiences touring with rock bands Poco
, The Allman Brothers Band
, Led Zeppelin
, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd
, and the real Stillwater. In a Rolling Stone article, he talks about how he lost his virginity, fell in love, and met his heroes, experiences that are shared by William, the main character in the film.
Despite failing to break even, the film received positive reviews and received four Oscar nominations
, one of which led to an award to Crowe for his screenplay. It was also awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Roger Ebert
hailed it the best film of the year. It also won two Golden Globes, for Best Picture and Kate Hudson won Best Supporting Actress.
William has sent rock journalist Lester Bangs
copies of his work, and Bangs gives William a $35 assignment to review a Black Sabbath
concert. Bangs advises William to be "honest and unmerciful". Without credentials, William cannot get into the San Diego Sports Arena. He meets semi-groupies
who call themselves "Band-Aids": Estrella Starr, Polexia Aphrodisia, Sapphire and their leader Penny Lane
, with whom he starts a conversation. The Band-Aids get into the show but William is still barred from entry as the opening band, Stillwater, arrives. They bring William backstage after he critiques Stillwater's work. The guitarist, Russell Hammond, takes a liking to William.
William is driven from San Diego to Hollywood by Penny to the "Riot House", the Hollywood Hyatt Hotel on Sunset Boulevard
, to meet Stillwater. Penny serves as William's chauffeur, but only to get close to Russell, for whom she has feelings and shares a past relationship. William is called by Ben Fong-Torres
, editor of Rolling Stone
, who wants him to do a story. Ben believes William is older than he really is, and William convinces Ben to let him go on the road with Stillwater. William rides with Stillwater and the Band-Aids aboard "Doris", the band's bus, promising to keep in contact with his mother. William desires to interview each member of Stillwater separately, and finds Russell's evasion of interviews increasingly frustrating. Russell receives an electric shock onstage in Phoenix, which infuriates their manager, Dick Roswell, causing them to abandon the show. In Topeka, Kansas
, a t-shirt showing Russell in focus with the rest of the band out of focus sparks an argument between lead singer Jeff and Russell. Russell and William leave, going to a teenage house party so Russell can be with people who are "real". Tripping on LSD, Russell climbs onto the roof, screaming "I am a golden god!" and instructing William to write that his last words were "I'm on drugs!" before jumping into the pool. William calls Dick to make Russell board the bus the next morning. During the tour, William forms a strong bond with Penny and loses his virginity to one of the Band-Aids.
A new manager, Dennis, is hired, and it is revealed that Penny must leave the tour before New York City
, where Leslie, Russell's ex-wife and current girlfriend, will join them. During a poker game, Russell allows Dick to sell the groupies to Humble Pie
for $50 and a case of Heineken
. When William tells Penny, she acts nonchalant but is devastated. Penny and Doris are left behind; Dennis has piled the band into a plane for more gigs. Penny travels to New York, showing up as the band gathers in a restaurant with Leslie. As they celebrate making the cover of Rolling Stone, Dick forces Penny to leave as Leslie grows suspicious. William follows Penny to her hotel room, finding her overdosed on quaaludes
. While keeping her awake he confesses he loves her just before doctors arrive. Penny reveals her real name (Lady Goodman) to him, a secret she has told very few. Penny thanks William for saving her before returning home to San Diego.
Stillwater's plane is caught in a thunderstorm and loses altitude. With death apparently imminent, the group confesses their secrets. During a quarrel, Penny is referred to as "that groupie". William defends Penny, reminding the band that they declared they were "in this for the fans", but Penny was their most adoring fan. The plane emerges from the storm unharmed, leaving the band to ponder the changed atmosphere. William continues to San Francisco
to finish the story, parting ways with the band. Russell tells him to write whatever he wants. William submits an article, but the Rolling Stone editors dismiss it as a "puff piece". Bangs advises him to be "honest and unmerciful". William rewrites the article, telling the truth. The Rolling Stone editors are eager to publish it until the fact checker
reports that Russell has denied everything, making William look like a liar, and the story is dropped. Sitting dejected in the airport, William encounters his sister. Now a stewardess, she offers to take him anywhere; William chooses to return home in order to make her reconcile with their mother.
Sapphire talks to Russell about Penny's attempted suicide. She reveals that William saved her life and chastises Russell for denying William's story. Russell asks Penny for her address so they can talk in person; she gives him William's address, and Russell, thinking the address is Penny's, enters the house to find Elaine. Learning who he is, she lets him see William. They reconcile, and Russell reveals that he called Rolling Stone to tell them William's story is true. Russell finally gives William an interview.
The film ends with Stillwater touring on their bus while William, Anita and Elaine share a meal together. Penny is at the airport on her way to Morocco as she promised.
's Stairway to Heaven
(in its entirety) to his mother. The song itself is not included in the film, but the video has a watermark
instructing viewers when to start the song.
on September 15, 2000 in 131 theaters where it grossed US$2.3 million on its first weekend. It was given a wider release
on September 22, 2000 in 1,193 theaters where it grossed US$6.9 million on its opening weekend. The film went on to make US$32.5 million in North America and US$14.8 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of US$47,383,689, well below its US$60 million budget.
and a 90 metascore on Metacritic
. Film critic Roger Ebert
gave the film four out of four stars and praised it for being "funny and touching in so many different ways". In his review for The New York Times
, A.O. Scott wrote, "The movie's real pleasures are to be found not in its story but in its profusion of funny, offbeat scenes. It's the kind of picture that invites you to go back and savor your favorite moments like choice album cuts".
Time
magazine's Richard Corliss
praised the film's screenplay for "giving each character his reasons, making everyone in the emotional debate charming and compelling, creating fictional people who breathe in a story with an organic life". In her review for the L.A. Weekly, Manohla Dargis
wrote that "the film shimmers with the irresistible pleasures that define Hollywood at its best - it's polished like glass, funny, knowing and bright, and filled with characters whose lives are invariably sexier and more purposeful than our own". Rolling Stone
magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "Not since A Hard Day's Night
has a movie caught the thrumming exuberance of going where the music takes you". In his review for Newsweek
, David Ansen
wrote, "Character-driven, it relies on chemistry, camaraderie, a sharp eye for detail and good casting". Entertainment Weekly
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, " Every Cameron Crowe film is, in one way or another, about romance, rock & roll, and his romance with rock & roll. This power ballad of a movie, from 2000, also happens to be Crowe's greatest (and most personal) film thanks to the golden gods of Stillwater and their biggest fan, Kate Hudson's incomparable Penny Lane."
Entertainment Weekly
gave the film an "A-" rating and Owen Gleiberman
praised Crowe for depicting the 1970s as "an era that found its purpose in having no purpose. Crowe, staying close to his memories, has gotten it, for perhaps the first time, onto the screen". In his review for the Los Angeles Times
, Kenneth Turan praised Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Lester Bangs: "Superbly played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, more and more the most gifted and inspired character actor working in film, what could have been the cliched portrait of an older mentor who speaks the straight truth blossoms into a marvelous personality". However, in his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris
felt that "none of the non-musical components on the screen matched the excitement of the music. For whatever reason, too much of the dark side has been left out". Desson Howe, in his review for the Washington Post, found it "very hard to see these long-haired kids as products of the 1970s instead of dressed up actors from the Seattle-Starbucks
era. I couldn't help wondering how many of these performers had to buy a CD copy of the song and study it for the first time".
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy-drama film
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
written and directed by Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater (named for an eponymous actual band
Stillwater (band)
Stillwater was an American band of the 1970s, which played Southern rock with a folk flair.Their song Mindbender charted in the top 100 singles in 1978. The band existed from 1973 to 1982 and was based in Warner Robins, Georgia. They released two albums on Capricorn Records, Stillwater , which...
), and his efforts to get his first cover story published. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.
The film is based on Crowe's experiences touring with rock bands Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
, The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
, and the real Stillwater. In a Rolling Stone article, he talks about how he lost his virginity, fell in love, and met his heroes, experiences that are shared by William, the main character in the film.
Despite failing to break even, the film received positive reviews and received four Oscar nominations
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, one of which led to an award to Crowe for his screenplay. It was also awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
hailed it the best film of the year. It also won two Golden Globes, for Best Picture and Kate Hudson won Best Supporting Actress.
Plot
In 1973, William Miller is a teenaged aspiring rock journalist. His mother, Elaine, wants him to become a lawyer. Miller writes for underground papers, sharing the love of rock music instilled in him through a gift of albums given by his sister, Anita, before she left home in disgust over Elaine's beliefs.William has sent rock journalist Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
copies of his work, and Bangs gives William a $35 assignment to review a Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
concert. Bangs advises William to be "honest and unmerciful". Without credentials, William cannot get into the San Diego Sports Arena. He meets semi-groupies
Groupie
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
who call themselves "Band-Aids": Estrella Starr, Polexia Aphrodisia, Sapphire and their leader Penny Lane
Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...
, with whom he starts a conversation. The Band-Aids get into the show but William is still barred from entry as the opening band, Stillwater, arrives. They bring William backstage after he critiques Stillwater's work. The guitarist, Russell Hammond, takes a liking to William.
William is driven from San Diego to Hollywood by Penny to the "Riot House", the Hollywood Hyatt Hotel on Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
, to meet Stillwater. Penny serves as William's chauffeur, but only to get close to Russell, for whom she has feelings and shares a past relationship. William is called by Ben Fong-Torres
Ben Fong-Torres
Benjamin Fong-Torres is an American rock journalist, author, and broadcaster best known for his association with Rolling Stone magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle .-Biography:Due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, Fong-Torres' father, Ricardo Fong-Torres Benjamin Fong-Torres (方振豪; Cantonese:...
, editor of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, who wants him to do a story. Ben believes William is older than he really is, and William convinces Ben to let him go on the road with Stillwater. William rides with Stillwater and the Band-Aids aboard "Doris", the band's bus, promising to keep in contact with his mother. William desires to interview each member of Stillwater separately, and finds Russell's evasion of interviews increasingly frustrating. Russell receives an electric shock onstage in Phoenix, which infuriates their manager, Dick Roswell, causing them to abandon the show. In Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, a t-shirt showing Russell in focus with the rest of the band out of focus sparks an argument between lead singer Jeff and Russell. Russell and William leave, going to a teenage house party so Russell can be with people who are "real". Tripping on LSD, Russell climbs onto the roof, screaming "I am a golden god!" and instructing William to write that his last words were "I'm on drugs!" before jumping into the pool. William calls Dick to make Russell board the bus the next morning. During the tour, William forms a strong bond with Penny and loses his virginity to one of the Band-Aids.
A new manager, Dennis, is hired, and it is revealed that Penny must leave the tour before New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where Leslie, Russell's ex-wife and current girlfriend, will join them. During a poker game, Russell allows Dick to sell the groupies to Humble Pie
Humble Pie (band)
Humble Pie was a rock band from England, finding success both in the UK and the US. They are remembered for songs such as "Black Coffee" "30 Days in the Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", and "Natural Born Bugie"...
for $50 and a case of Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
. When William tells Penny, she acts nonchalant but is devastated. Penny and Doris are left behind; Dennis has piled the band into a plane for more gigs. Penny travels to New York, showing up as the band gathers in a restaurant with Leslie. As they celebrate making the cover of Rolling Stone, Dick forces Penny to leave as Leslie grows suspicious. William follows Penny to her hotel room, finding her overdosed on quaaludes
Methaqualone
Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan...
. While keeping her awake he confesses he loves her just before doctors arrive. Penny reveals her real name (Lady Goodman) to him, a secret she has told very few. Penny thanks William for saving her before returning home to San Diego.
Stillwater's plane is caught in a thunderstorm and loses altitude. With death apparently imminent, the group confesses their secrets. During a quarrel, Penny is referred to as "that groupie". William defends Penny, reminding the band that they declared they were "in this for the fans", but Penny was their most adoring fan. The plane emerges from the storm unharmed, leaving the band to ponder the changed atmosphere. William continues to San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
to finish the story, parting ways with the band. Russell tells him to write whatever he wants. William submits an article, but the Rolling Stone editors dismiss it as a "puff piece". Bangs advises him to be "honest and unmerciful". William rewrites the article, telling the truth. The Rolling Stone editors are eager to publish it until the fact checker
Fact checker
A fact checker is the person who checks factual assertions in non-fictional text, usually intended for publication in a periodical, to determine their veracity and correctness...
reports that Russell has denied everything, making William look like a liar, and the story is dropped. Sitting dejected in the airport, William encounters his sister. Now a stewardess, she offers to take him anywhere; William chooses to return home in order to make her reconcile with their mother.
Sapphire talks to Russell about Penny's attempted suicide. She reveals that William saved her life and chastises Russell for denying William's story. Russell asks Penny for her address so they can talk in person; she gives him William's address, and Russell, thinking the address is Penny's, enters the house to find Elaine. Learning who he is, she lets him see William. They reconcile, and Russell reveals that he called Rolling Stone to tell them William's story is true. Russell finally gives William an interview.
The film ends with Stillwater touring on their bus while William, Anita and Elaine share a meal together. Penny is at the airport on her way to Morocco as she promised.
Alternative versions
Along with the standard DVD version, Crowe compiled an alternate version called Almost Famous: Untitled, which was a compilation of both released footage and his favorite deleted scenes. Running for about 40 minutes longer than the theatrical release, Untitled was subtitled "The Bootleg Cut", with its packaging resembling a cheap seventies bootleg. The DVD also contains a deleted scene that shows William playing Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
(in its entirety) to his mother. The song itself is not included in the film, but the video has a watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
instructing viewers when to start the song.
Reaction
Almost Famous had its premiere at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. It was subsequently given a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on September 15, 2000 in 131 theaters where it grossed US$2.3 million on its first weekend. It was given a wider release
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
on September 22, 2000 in 1,193 theaters where it grossed US$6.9 million on its opening weekend. The film went on to make US$32.5 million in North America and US$14.8 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of US$47,383,689, well below its US$60 million budget.
Critical reception
Almost Famous was very well-received by critics who gave it predominantly positive reviews; it currently holds an 88% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a 90 metascore on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film four out of four stars and praised it for being "funny and touching in so many different ways". In his review for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, A.O. Scott wrote, "The movie's real pleasures are to be found not in its story but in its profusion of funny, offbeat scenes. It's the kind of picture that invites you to go back and savor your favorite moments like choice album cuts".
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
praised the film's screenplay for "giving each character his reasons, making everyone in the emotional debate charming and compelling, creating fictional people who breathe in a story with an organic life". In her review for the L.A. Weekly, Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
wrote that "the film shimmers with the irresistible pleasures that define Hollywood at its best - it's polished like glass, funny, knowing and bright, and filled with characters whose lives are invariably sexier and more purposeful than our own". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's Peter Travers wrote, "Not since A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
has a movie caught the thrumming exuberance of going where the music takes you". In his review for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, David Ansen
David Ansen
David Ansen is a reviewer and senior editor for Newsweek, where he has been reviewing movies since 1977. He came to Newsweek after several years as the chief film critic at Boston's The Real Paper...
wrote, "Character-driven, it relies on chemistry, camaraderie, a sharp eye for detail and good casting". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, " Every Cameron Crowe film is, in one way or another, about romance, rock & roll, and his romance with rock & roll. This power ballad of a movie, from 2000, also happens to be Crowe's greatest (and most personal) film thanks to the golden gods of Stillwater and their biggest fan, Kate Hudson's incomparable Penny Lane."
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film an "A-" rating and Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
praised Crowe for depicting the 1970s as "an era that found its purpose in having no purpose. Crowe, staying close to his memories, has gotten it, for perhaps the first time, onto the screen". In his review for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Kenneth Turan praised Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Lester Bangs: "Superbly played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, more and more the most gifted and inspired character actor working in film, what could have been the cliched portrait of an older mentor who speaks the straight truth blossoms into a marvelous personality". However, in his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris is an American film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism.-Career:Sarris is generally credited with popularizing the auteur theory in the U.S...
felt that "none of the non-musical components on the screen matched the excitement of the music. For whatever reason, too much of the dark side has been left out". Desson Howe, in his review for the Washington Post, found it "very hard to see these long-haired kids as products of the 1970s instead of dressed up actors from the Seattle-Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
era. I couldn't help wondering how many of these performers had to buy a CD copy of the song and study it for the first time".