As I was watching various clips of Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous today, trying to figure out just which scene to use for this illusive category, something surprising hit me. Following only one movie before it, I feel very certain that Almost Famous is just one giant movie dedicated to chills. Yes, that's right. Every clip I watch is giving me chills. And I just don't know why.
The thing is, this is Almost Famous. This is not an inspirational sports movie about a high school football team forced to racially integrate during the civil rights movement, not only overcoming their reservations and racism (ah yes, the two r's) but also their rival teams (zing! three r's)! No, Almost Famous is nothing like that. Instead, this is the story about a teenage boy in the early 1970s who gets a dream writing assignment from Rolling Stones magazine and subsequently goes on tour with Stillwater (a band only in the film) much to his mother's dismay. This movie also doesn't star Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst or even Ryan Gosling as inspiration leaders. Nope, this movie stars Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Jimmy Fallon, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Billy Crudup as a collection of rock stars, groupies, music enthusiasts and family members, none of which are really that inspiring. I mean, none of them manage to go on to compete in the special Olympics after being crippled in a car accident. Not a single one.
And yet, I still cannot see anything but inspiration, feeling nothing but chills. How can that be? Perhaps because the script is so heart-warming? Everyone loves a coming-of-age tale, especially when that tale is based on the life of writer/director Cameron Crowe. Or perhaps because all the acting is so well done, allowing the viewer to feel a range of emotions? After all, Kate Hudson was nominated for an Oscar. Or perhaps it's because Almost Famous tells a story in a time many of us remain nostalgic for? Whatever the case, I can't help but feel the chills this movie has to offer.
Check out a sampling of clips below. Here's hoping you feel the same sort of out-of-character chills I do because, honestly, it's pretty great.
