On September 15, 2000, Cameron Crowe’s somewhat autobiographical film "Almost Famous" lit up screens across the United States for the first time. On that day, I was a four-year-old helping my very pregnant mother buckle my baby brother into his carseat before driving off to preschool for the day. It wouldn’t be for another 10 years or so that I would see "Almost Famous" for the first time, and another couple of years after that to figure out what it means to me, but today I celebrate the 15th year of "Almost Famous," inspiring a flutter and a clench in so many young creative hearts, including my own.
The film, set in 1973, follows sheltered 15-year-old William Miller (Patrick Fugit) as he convinces Rolling Stone magazine to let him write a feature story on the up-and-coming rock band Stillwater. He tours with them across the country, falls in love with “band-aid” Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), and peels away the romanticized elements of sex, drugs, and rock and roll in search of the true inspiration for music, writing, and all beautiful things in between.
When I saw "Almost Famous" for the first time during my middle school years, I was instantly inspired by how “cool” William was—despite the rest of the characters consistently telling him that he isn’t cool. In this world of rock music, magazine writing, touring, and partying, everyone is obsessed with their self-image. But William wants the story, and he wants to do it right. He doesn’t have a unique style of dress, he’s never had a girlfriend, or many friends at all for that matter, and he has never “partied” in the way the Stillwater crew has. For much of the movie he is struggling to figure out where these people are coming from and why they act the way they do.
And still, William gets the story. Each time I watch this movie is a reminder that it’s okay not to know what’s going on around you—as long as you love what you do and you keep doing that, you’ll get to where you need to go. Now, years after my first taste of "Almost Famous," I go to a large university in New York City. I have no idea what I’ll be doing three months from now, but I do know that I love writing, and I look to William as a kindred spirit, albeit a fictional one.
William ends up on this whirlwind of a tour because he wants to write about Stillwater, but it is his search for a verbal understanding of this band that leads him to an emotional connection with the group. As a writer, this movie is a reaffirmation that following your story, whatever it may be, and trying to put it into words can fulfill every aspect of life. As a young person, "Almost Famous" is a validation of my search for who I am, regardless of whether that is “cool” or not. Happy 15th birthday to "Almost Famous," and thank you for putting me in the mindset to attempt to connect with others and myself through writing, whenever I’m feeling a little lost or a little “uncool.”
