October 31-Day Film Challenge: Day 25 Best Movie Ensemble The Cast of Almost Famous (2000, Cameron Crowe) * Patrick Fugit, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Noah Taylor, Jason Lee, Anna Paquin, Zooey Deschanel, Fairuza Balk, Michael Angarano, Jimmy Fallon, John Fedevich, Terry Chen, Eric Stonestreet, Rainn Wilson, Nick Swardson, Jay Baruchel, Peter Frampton Stand-Out: Kate Hudson as Penny Lane The acting was honest, true to how people behave without getting schmaltzy or over-dramatic. Cameron Crowe gets these actors to all project a belief in themselves and bring that across in a way that we care about what happens to them. I particularly liked the rendition of William Miller by Patrick Fugit, who steals the show as the precocious rock-n-roll journalist. He evokes visions of a young Matthew Broderick or a wide-eyed Michael J. Fox without ever getting corraled into being the cute but troubled young kid. Frances McDormand is amazing and well-cast as Elaine the Mom, someone so wrapped up in creating a safe, healthy environment she drives both her children far away from home. Billy Crudup & Kate Hudson create the tension filled romance that drives the story along; both did a great job & were adroitly evocative of those fast times in the rock & roll fantasyland of the 70s. Billy, as Russell Hammond, teeters on the edge of fame, not wanting to leave his long-suffering bandmates behind but being courted as the bands star by the record company, is palpably torn. He carries William through the whirlwind of emotions and music along with him, showing him a world that is desperate and lonely, even with the whole world seemingly vying for his attention. His casting is also very clever, seeing as how Billy Crudup also sits on the brink of his own stardom & acclaim in real life. Lester Bangs is Williams guru, played to perfection by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. A walking oxymoron, he exudes a callous arrogance and at the same time expresses genuine affection for the up-and-comer, sometimes giving William the exact advice he needs to get him through the toughest moments as a rock critic & dealing with the love/hate relationships they seem to engender with everyone in their world of music. Add Zooey Deschannel (before she was synonymous with the term “adorkable”) as rebellious sister and you’ve got three strong and impeccably-cast female parts. Too often female-centered films exist solely to rack up actress nominations, which is why I have to give credit to this film for featuring so many great female roles. I cant say enough about the awesome casting job, as well as the very detailed set design, costuming & realism to the times. Period pieces are usually difficult to do well; Mr. Crowe did this one genuine and good.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 23:31:53 +0000
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