There have been plenty of movies depicting the rock n' roll lifestyle and all the trappings that come with it c- the drugs, parties, girls and the music. Most of these movies have been related from the perspective of someone on the inside, either the rock stars themselves or someone close to them. Cameron Crowe, the writer and director of Jerry McGuire, in his new film Almost Famous, puts a fresh spin on this formula: take someone from outside the rock n' roll world and put him/her dead smack in the midst of a tour and get his/her take on things. And it works. Beautifully.

The outsider in this film is fifteen-year-old William Miller, played by newcomer Patrick Fugit. A bright, articulate, and a somewhat naive young man, Miller has been assigned by Rolling Stone magazine to cover the fictional band Stillwater on their Almost Famous tour. He befriends the band, particularly the lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and forms a deep attachment with one of their traveling groupies, Penelope Lane (Kate Hudson). Hanging in the background is Miller's overprotective mother, played wonderfully by Frances McDormand and Miller's mentor, Creammagazine publisher Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Jason Lee, of Mallrats fame, plays Jeff Bebe, the lead singer of Stillwater who is jealous of all the attention that Russell is receiving. Anna (X-men) Paquin and Fairuza (The Craft) Balk also have roles, playing two more traveling groupies of the band.

Bangs, at the beginning of the movie, gives Miller one piece of advice: if he wishes to be a rock n' roll journalist, don't become friends with the band. Miller does just this, becoming a key part of the band's experiences and ultimately saving the life of Penelope after she overdoses on pills after discovering that Russell is married. It becomes hard for him to write the article objectively as Bangs wants him to do, and eventually he decides to write it like he sees it.

Crowe drew on his own life experiences for inspiration for the film, which might explain its sentimentality. The depiction that Crowe gives of the rock n' roll lifestyle in this movie is very sanitized. The lesson that Miller learns at the end, while overtly sentimental, is a valid one nonetheless: family is important, be it real, such as the bond between him and his mother or created, like the camaraderie between Stillwater.