Almost Famous

Almost Famous is a movie about a single mother who loves her son too much to be over-protective. (It's also about sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, hypocrisy and Rolling Stone Magazine.)

The year is 1973; fifteen-year-old William Miller is asked by the magazine to cover a rock band's tour. Aided by advice from legendary rock critic Lester Bangs, William leaves behind a doubtful but supportive mother and hits the road. Thanks to the megalomaniacal shenanigans of the band and the distractions of a bunch of beautiful groupies who call themselves The Band-Aids, the magazine article he's been sent to do takes a serious back seat. All this is much to the horror of his professor mother, who tells her class "My son has been kidnapped by a rock band!" It's a fear we all have.

Based on the true-life adventures of the film's writer and director Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous is, among other things, a loving tribute to holding on to children in a turbulent age. For single mothers, the movie offers a refreshing interpretation of adolescence - one that suggests that along with, or in spite of, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and anarchy, God's still in his heaven and all's right with the world.

Written and Directed by Cameron Crowe; Columia Pictures-DreamWorksSKG; 2000