'Almost Famous' documents beginnings of young journalist

Music lovers everywhere can appreciate Cameron Crowe's contribution to the music industry. Not only did Crowe work for Rolling Stone from the early age of 16, he wrote a screenplay that captures this time. "Almost Famous" is a loosely autobiographical movie about Crowe's coming of age while working for Rolling Stone. "This film is my thank you to music," said Crowe in an HBO special. "Almost Famous" opens as a young San Diego boy named William Miller (Patrick Fugit) discovers his sister's hidden record collection the day she leaves home. To make a long story short, William falls in love with the music and listens to it night and day. He begins writing for school and underground newspapers and gets discovered during his senior year by Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), beloved critic and editor of Creem Magazine. William starts working for Bangs and, despite his protective mother's fears, covers his first big concert when Black Sabbath comes to San Diego. He meets groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) and opening band Stillwater. He forms an acquaintance with Stillwater's guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and gets a job writing for Rolling Stone. The magazine sends William on the trip of his life. He tours with Stillwater across the country, going to concerts, parties, and generally living the famous life. He comes to the harsh realization that stars and girls aren't as perfect as he had thought and that the music is what brought them all together. Hudson exudes the free spirit of the era and clashes with the human need for commitment and boundaries perfectly. She easily moves between carefree nonsensical banter with Fugit to heartfelt love gazes with Crudup. Billy Crudup plays the stereotypical aloof playboy guitarist Russell Hammond with humor and grace. Jason Lee, as Stillwater's lead singer Jeff Bebe, is his usual hilarious self, captures the loudmouth attitude and contributes to some of the movie's most poignant moments when he and Crudup lock horns in band disputes. Fugit shines in his first role, with innocent eyes that grow wise throughout his adventure, telling the tale of Cameron Crowe's maturation in an honest, beautiful way. Hoffman portrays Lester Bangs, Crowe's real life mentor and grand master of rock criticism, very accurately. His sarcasm and cynicism transform to a loving paternalism when he helps Fugit's William through all his growing pains. Frances McDormand turns out perhaps the most intriguing performance as William Miller's intellectually stimulating, morally rigid, over-protective mother. The college professor mom moves from tirades against consumerism, sexual deviancy, and drugs to surprisingly inspirational talks with William and his new rock star friends. "Almost Famous" establishes its music focus most heavily through its score and soundtrack. The music director wrote authentic-sounding classic rock riffs for the fictional band Stillwater that compete with the hits of the era. Peter Frampton was recruited to teach the actors in the band to actually play and record the songs. The scene where a band disagreement is settled by a group sing-along to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" makes middle-aged viewers reel with nostalgia and younger generations pine for the days when that music was so abundant. "Almost Famous" boasts an all-star cast that cranks out poignant performances, a musical score that makes the head spin, and camerawork and authenticity that are unparalleled. Cameron Crowe will be around for a long time, and "Almost Famous" most certainly will, too. Grade: A