Almost Famous | Eastern North Carolina Now

     Russell Hammond, Stillwater's Lead Guitarist, had already made a name for himself. Russell, played by Billy Crudup, was the cool, but self-absorbed leader of the band, and yet of all the other members of Stillwater, Russell most connected with William Miller. He also connected just as well with Penny Lane, and this is a source of great consternation for young William, for he is most infatuated with the enigmatic leader of the Band Aides.
    Russell, the leader of Stillwater and Penny Lane, the leader of the Band Aides, were most intimate. The perfect couple? Hardly.

     Regardless, Russell felt the need to befriend William one night in Topeka, Kansas, after the Band endured a rash of turmoil between Jeff Bebe, portrayed by Jason lee, and himself. This aspect of discord between the two fictional leaders of Stillwater was actually modeled on observations of Greg Allman and Dickey Betts, actually made by Cameron Crowe when he chronicled his travels with the Allman Brothers in the early 1970's, just after the motorcycle-accident death of Duane Allman. I digress: Russell and William walked the streets of Topeka and eventually befriend locals, whereby, they partied with them and gave Russell acid (LSD), which made for yet another very human and humorous situation.

     The setup: Russell Hammond is standing atop the apex of a one-story, A-frame house with a modest swimming pool below. A wide-eyed, grinning-from-ear-to-ear Russell has already announced to the cheering crowd of mesmerized, stoned hippie wannabes in Topeka, before he jumps to the waiting water below:

     "I'M A GOLDEN GOD!"

     The crowd of neo-hippies cheer wildly, and an energized Russell continues his dialogue to his brain-cooked legion below:

     Russell: "And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were ... I'M ON DRUGS!" [crowd of stoned hippie wannabes cheer wildly]
    William: "Russell! I think we should work on those last words!"
    Russell: "I got it, I got it. Last words - I DIG MUSIC." [a smattering of a few claps, with Russell looking downbeat, then he smiles wide again]
    Russell: "I'M ON DRUGS!" [crowd of stoned hippie wannabes cheer wilder the second time, and then he jumps to the water below]

     Back to drugs. William's mother, Elaine, who is becoming less-indulgent, but still bitingly intelligent, was obsessed with William's not taking drugs. She, understandably, expected that her son stay pure, and not be jaded by this first whirlwind experience. Subsequently, she was on tenterhooks, and in constant anxiety to know her son's whereabouts. She called him constantly - Pay phones and hotel front desks,- and on occasion spoke to him.

     On this one occasion, Russell, naturally pumped up on his own adrenalin just before hitting the stage for another big show sees William on the pay phone talking to his mother, snatches it from his hand and proceeds to speak into the receiver as if this was his conversation, not William's:

    Russell Hammond: [Russell grabs phone away from William] "Hey, mom! It's Russell Hammond. I play guitar in Stillwater. Hey, how does it feel to be the mother of the greatest rock journalist we've met? Hello? Hello...? Look, you've got a really great kid here. There's nothing to worry about. We're taking good care of him, and you should come to the show sometime - join the circus..."
    "Elaine Miller: Hey, hey, listen to me, Mister. Your charm doesn't work on me - I'm on to you. Of course you like him..."
    Russell Hammond:"Well, yeah..."
    Elaine Miller: "He worships you people. And that's fine by you as long as he helps make you rich."
     Russell Hammond: "Rich? I don't think so..."
     Elaine Miller: "Listen to me. He's a smart, good-hearted fifteen-year-old kid with infinite potential."
     Russell Hammond: [Russell is stunned, but grinning speechless, as if he was still in control of the conversation]
     Elaine Miller: "This is not some apron-wearing mother you're speaking with - I know all about your Valhalla of decadence and I shouldn't have let him go. He's not ready for your world of compromised values and diminished brain cells that you throw away like confetti. Am I speaking to you clearly?"
     Russell Hammond: "Yes - yes, ma'am..."
    Elaine Miller: "If you break his spirit, harm him in any way, keep him from his chosen profession which is law - something you may not value, but I do - you will meet the voice on the other end of this telephone and it will not be pretty. Do we understand each other?"
     Russell Hammond: "Uh, yes, ma'am..."
     Elaine Miller: "I didn't ask for this role, but I'll play it. Now go do your best. Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid. Goethe said that. It's not too late for you to become a person of substance, Russell. Please get my son home safely. You know, I'm glad we spoke."     [Elaine hangs up]
     Russell Hammond: [Russell stands holding phone in stunned silence, and then speaks to William] "Your mom kind of freaked me out."
     William Miller: [places hand on Russell's shoulder] "She means well."

     Two worlds colliding here - Frances McDormand's stoic, unflappable Elaine Miller meets Billy Crudup's cool, chiseled, charismatic Russell Hammond head on. It is symbolic of the whole dramatic tension that is William Miller's world - Writer / Director Cameron Crowe's actual world that gave birth to this quite humorous, and quite real story of the fantastic experience that is the not-so-fantastic world of backstage Rock 'n' Roll.
    Elaine Miller's Frances McDormand presence is felt in almost every scene of the film: Above. Every mother's nightmare: The smiling allure of the truly "hot chick," and backstage Rock 'n' Roll: Below.

     There is so much reality in this story of real emotions, real music, and real humor. Even Patrick Fugit as the remarkably mature, intelligent, sweet and kind William Miller grew three inches while making the film, which is noticeable (on my third viewing at least), and since Cameron Crowe filmed this classic mostly in sequence, it works for the film. Young William's actually growing up before our eyes in just 122 minutes of runtime.

     For me, this is just one more Cameron Crow film that works. The director / screenwriter has not done many films, but I like them all: "Jerry Maguire," "Almost Famous" and "Vanilla Sky" are classics. "Elizabethtown" is a junior classic, or maybe not. It might get an upgrade upon its third viewing. One never knows.

     One common thread in all of these films: Nancy Wilson of the band Heart, Cameron Crowe's wife of 22 years before their recent divorce, does the music in all of his films, and it is a seamless component of each film. "Almost Famous," a film about music and how it changes people's worlds, was no different. While rolling through America's "Breadbasket," in the quiet of a busload of bruised egos and the morning after Russell's comedic acid trip, Stillwater and their crew (including the Band Aides) slowly break into a sing-along of Elton John / Bernie Taupin's "Tiny Dancer." The scene is classic cinema, and brings the viewer into the chorus.

     And that is Cameron Crowe's strength: Pulling perfect scenes together, and the audience into them, to explain real, and often fantastic, people's lives. What he is saying is that we are all not so different from one another. We just walk the road of life a bit differently, but the walk to where we are going is eventually the same.

     Rated R. Released on DVD March 13, 2001.

    This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Better Angels Now