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Volume CXXXII, Number 11 |
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Almost perfection
DAVIN MICHAELS
COLUMNIST
There are three necessities of life: sex, drugs and rock and roll. Maybe not for everyone, but at least they are ingredients for a great movie. There haven't been too many old movies that effectively capture and accurately portray life during the late '60s and '70s and how music was an influential presence in those politically charged decades.
There was a miniseries on TV a while back that tried to highlight this decade, The '70s, and with the exception of Bye Bye Birdie (1963), which stuck closer to the '60s and Rock Around The Clock (1956) which attempted to tell a fictional account of the birth of rock music, few movies have interwoven the world of '70s rock with a captivating story.
Despite my column's goal to introduce others to timeless older movies, the only film I found that effectively portrays rock music with an interesting plot surrounding it, is a modern one, Cameron Crowe's masterpiece, Almost Famous. This movie takes place in the hippie generation-or the '70s-a time in which classic rock fans like me always wish they could have been born.
It not only portrays this generation accurately, but it describes the power that rock music had on its devoted fans and how music was a key factor that helped to shape their lives.
The premise of the story is a young teenage boy, William Miller (Patrick Fugit) who decides to pursue two of his passions-journalism and music-in a hands-on project of following the band Stillwater around on their tour and writing a review for the acclaimed Rolling Stone magazine. His mentor is the historic critic, Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).
On tour, he becomes exposed to things that shock and excite him, including falling in love with the stunning and promiscuous Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), and being deflowered at the age of fifteen by Penny's posse of self proclaimed 'Band Aids.'
He also befriends the ban's "dark and mysterious" lead guitarist, Russel Hammond (Billy Crudup). Aside from the fact that he is having the time of his life, he is constantly reminded not to fall victim to the evils of the profession that he so idolizes.
His mother (Frances McDormand) constantly reminds him not to do drugs, while others warn him not to become friends with the musicians that he admires so much. Despite all that he undergoes, he makes the right choices. However, he does learn that the world of rock and roll is sometimes just a fantasy.
This movie is beautifully shot and is perfectly cast. Frances McDormand is hilarious and convincing as an over-protective mother trying to create a sterile and safe environment for her son to grow up in, despite the chaos that surrounds him.
The movie also preaches the importance of rock and roll in history and to the lives of young individuals. For some, like the 'Band Aids' it was a way of life, and as one puts it, it is, "To love something so much…to truly and deeply love it so much…that it hurts."
The painfully obvious, yet most important part of the film, is the wonderful music. With a great story and entertaining movie comes an impressive soundtrack featuring artists such as Led Zeppelin, Simon and Garfunkel, The Who, The Allman Brothers Band, and Yes-music that most definitely defines the era being portrayed.
This is a fabulous coming-of-age movie, and something that can be appreciated by both music fans and movie fans. It certainly captures the positive and negative aspects of the world of rock and roll better than movies like Rock Star that are too one-dimensional and fall short of conveying a substantial and profound message.
I would say, though, that this movie may appeal more to music freaks-such as myself-that nostalgically mourn a generation that we can only learn about through college courses like The History of Rock (a music class offered at Bowdoin next semester) and parents' stories.
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