Following the Band: Review of the Film Almost Famous Almost famous, written and directed by Cameron Crowe , is an endearing coming of age film that follows the adventures and experiences William Miller, of a teenage writer played by Patrick Fugit, as he follows an up and coming rock and roll band (Stillwater) in order to write a cover story for Rolling Stone Magazine in the early 1970's. William Miller is a bright-eyed and intelligent young high school student with a passion for both writing and rock music. Confined by an overly concerned and strict mother who has a irrational dislike for rock and roll music, William is desperate to break away and create a life for himself. William is determined it find an outlet and eventually lands a job writing album reviews for a local newspaper. Lester Bangs, an editor of Cream (a low-budget rock and roll magazine) played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, stumbles across William's album reviews and enjoys his work. Lester ends up getting ahold of William and offers him a job reporting on a Black Sabbath Concert. William excitedly accepts the offer, but is unable to gain access to the hugely popular Black Sabbath after the concert. Fortunately for William the members of the opening band, Stillwater, are very willing to be interviewed and provide him with enough material to write a solid report. William's piece on Stillwater catches the eye of an editor at Rolling Stone Magazine, Ben Fong-Torres ( played by Terry Chen ), who was so impressed by the article that he offers William an opportunity of a lifetime; to go on tour with Stillwater and write a 3,000 word cover story on the adventure. Despite his mother's pleas, William accepts the offer and heads off to go on tour with the band. Once on tour, William quickly befriends guitarist Russel Hammond ( played by Billy Crudup )and falls deeply in love with a gorgeous and free spirited groupie by the name of Penny Lane ( Kate Hudson ). William quickly realizes that behind the glitz and the glamour, the tour life is far more complex and exhausting than he had ever imagined. Not wanting to betray his new found friendships by reporting on all of the internal conflicts he has learned about the band, William finds himself in a dilemma; Does he keep it professional and write all that he sees and hears ( Which could prove detrimental to the band ) or does he sugar coat his article in order to protect the reputation of Stillwater? Mixing rock and roll with the genre of drama may seem like an odd combination, but Almost Famous manages to pull if off quite well. I found it interesting how a movie that most would expect to be all about rock and roll is actually less about music and more about the story of a earnest and somewhat sheltered kid being thrust into a wild world of drugs, sex and rock and roll and somehow managing to come out on the other end a better person. Witnessing how harsh and unforgiving the "real world" can really be, William is able to gain a better understanding of life and learns to appreciate what he has that so many don't, a true caring family. The writing wasn't the only thing that Almost famous did well, the acting was incredible as well. Kate Hudson in particular did an amazing job creating the complex character of Penny Lane. Penny Lane was more than just your average groupie, she was a open eyed and intelligent woman searching for something genuine in a world ( the rock and roll world ) that is generally incredibly superficial. Penny was strong, intelligent and ultimately extremely heartbroken all of which Kate Hudson portrayed superbly. All in all Almost Famous was a very well crafted film. The great script, amazing acting performances and spot on direction all came together to create a film that is able to send you back into the early 70's and feel as if you are on tour with a band on the cusp of stardom.