Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Almost Famous’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Cinema as a whole has always fascinated me simply because of the fact that it outright romanticizes real life. We are often treated to stories that provide us with raw emotion and powerful moments, but all of it is by perfect design to give us a rollercoaster experience that keeps us coming back for more. That’s not a bad thing by any means, because it truly is incredible to see a medium that can accomplish that kind of emotional wonder, but it does at times make me long for motion pictures that provide that proverbial slice of life, because those are the films that truly celebrate the wonder of our humanity.
 
Yet, what I love more about those slice of life films, is how they manage to relate to the audience. Because these are the films that elicit emotions we’ve experienced alongside the characters or…they outright recreate similar moments we’ve enjoyed in our life time, giving the movie a surprisingly personal feel when one settles in to watch it. Sadly, I often find that these types of motion pictures are difficult to find, but they are out there, and they’re magnificent when you find them and one in particular that has always been near and dear to me is the fascinating story of a young writer who discovers the wonders of life while on his first assignment in Almost Famous.
 
Now at first glance, one would think that this story is not relatable in the slightest since the plot seems like something few of us would ever experience. After all, William Miller is a prodigy writer who gets to write for Rolling Stone and travel with the band Stillwater for his first ever professional writing gig. Which, I know I’ve never done, and I think it’s safe to assume most of you reading this fall into that category as well. But what makes Almost Famous so incredibly relatable is what happens while William is on his journey with the band because he gets to see the world and the complexities of love and life and that makes for a beautiful film. 

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​I mean, I know I definitely recall going on my first road trip with close friends and learning more about them by spending hours in the car and weekends in a hotel, but the film goes far beyond a road trip flick because it is the era of discovery that William goes through that matters more here since he comes to discover what the real world is like outside of the bubble he’s been raised in and he also comes to learn that his musical heroes are people just like everyone else and they are just as flawed and uncertain about the future as he is and that…is painfully and shockingly relatable because we all went through that kind of discovery at some point or another in our lives.
 
Yet, what I truly loved most about this film is that it has a message for the audience when it comes to our dreams and our passions, in that…they will be difficult to pursue, and hardships will be found as we continue to chase them or live them. But despite the roadblocks and challenges that come our way, we can never give up on them. We have to live them, breathe them and keep at it because they define us, and they fuel us, and that subtle message allows for some genuinely beautiful moments to happen in this story as we watch both William and Russell, the lead singer for Stillwater live that mantra to a tee.
 
If anything, this is one of those movies that instantly sucks you in with its colorful characters and powerful performances and it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re a fan of classic rock, because the story and its humanity are what’s paramount here and this is one that I instantly stop and watch when it is on since it features moments that I’ve lived through, in fact the ‘Tiny Dancer’ scene is perhaps my favorite moment in the film since I can’t even count how many times my pals and I have busted out into song while on the road. But if anything, this is just a great movie about life, and the wonder of growing up, and how our dreams and our passions are what keep us young since one never forgets what outlet they fell in love with and that makes this film a magical experience… 

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