A sweetly optimistic film set in the world of that most pessimistic of music forms, rock.

Plot: Barely-in-his-teens William (newcomer Patrick Fugit) is commissioned by the 'Rolling Stone' magazine to cover a band, 'Stillwater' (comprising of Billy Crudup, Jason Lee among others), while touring with it in the early seventies. While doing so, he is privy to the stars' backstage squabbling, the action involving the groupies (Kate Hudson, Anna Paquin), and almost everything else that is totally alien to his small-town background.

"God, please, please let this film make a gazillion dollars and pave the way for Cameron Crowe's ticket to the big time. You didn't listen to me when I asked the same of last fall's best film, 'Magnolia', but please please, please listen to me this time".

End of desperate plea, start of review. As is obvious, this review is going to be a rave. After the screening, several questions rose in my mind. Why isn't writer-director Crowe more of a known name? Why isn't star Billy Crudup mentioned in the same breath with Tom Cruise? Why are such films so rare in Hollywood?

'Almost Famous' manages to be something one would have never thought possible -- a sweetly optimistic film set in the world of that most pessimistic of music forms, rock. At the beginning (after an impressively original credits sequence), we see William's world, dominated largely by his schoolteacher- mother (Frances McDormand in a very funny and touching performance) who thinks that even Simon and Garfunkel are messengers of the devil. It's almost a nifty joke to see him jump from 'this' into the world of rock 'n' roll, especially given the latter's seventies accoutrements of drugs, chicks and all things hedonistic.

Once he hits the road, the members of 'Stillwater' and the attendant groupies called 'Band Aids' (because their job is to be the band's 'muse', never mind that they also have to serve other needs of the swinging rock stars) take to his sweet charm and this part of the film is magnificent. The series of incidents that occur are so original, so beautifully written and so wonderfully enacted that your heart aches for the creative life.

Newcomer Kate Hudson is terrific, and gets the best scene of the entire film. A performance is over, and she dances, actually ambles, aimlessly and alone on the confetti-strewn concert floor; such is her love for the band. This hardly-one-minute scene brought a lump to my throat, and deepens our appreciation for what happens to her character through the course of the film. Crudup is quietly sensational as Stillwater's lead guitarist, an oddball package of sensitivity and rock-star he-man posing. Seeing the brilliant things he does with his lines and his scenes, not to mention his thousand-watt charisma, I was left dumbstruck at why this guy is still a minor player in the Hollywood pantheon. Maybe this will be his big break! The third great performance in this film is by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as rock critic Lester Bangs, who nails yet another scene-stealing supporting role.

But the star of the film is undoubtedly its writer-director. From 'Say Anything' to 'Singles' to 'Jerry Maguire', Crowe's written smart, funny lines for non-stock characters. Take, for instance, the scene where the band gets onto the bus with everyone else in tow, after a fight about who the real star is. Elton John's 'Tiny Dancer' starts playing in the background, the drummer starts 'air drumming', and, one by one, everyone joins in. The power of music to heal... a cliched concept? Yes. But the way it's played out here is just... sweet and heartfelt and full of goggle-eyed optimism. That's what I meant when I said this has to be some sort of a first -- a charming film about rock, unlike the usual fare this genre produces, like 'Sid and Nancy'. If anything, I felt this film had a tone similar to many of the genuinely rueful seventies counterculture films, most notably 'Harold and Maude' (see it if you haven't, it's a terrific anti-establishment comedy).

Later, the twists and turns come on, professionally for the band and personally for William as he falls in love. And every time you think you see where this film is headed, it veers off in unexpected tangents. Needless to say, the entire soundtrack is filled with goodies from the early seventies, the first good collection of songs in a film since the soundtrack to 'Rushmore' came out a while ago.

Rating: Whether God listens to my plea or not, this is one film that's tough to forget, easy to love. It's going to be a beautiful one to revisit in the coming years. And hell, if it does bomb, there's always hope for Crowe's next film. Entertainment Weekly reports that it stars someone named Tom Cruise!

Reviewed by Baradwaj Rangan. What did you think of this review? Post a message on our message boards or write to editor@sitagita.com

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