What adolescent doesn't incorporate music into their lives? The Beatles. Vanilla Ice. Metallica. Backstreet Boys. As teenagers, we all seek to define ourselves through the music we listen to. Maybe that's why men use stereo size in college as a form of dominance-the louder you can play your music, the more important you are.

In Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," 15 year-old William Miller (Patrick Fugit) gets the opportunity of a lifetime to pursue his love of music. He is contacted by Rolling Stone magazine and asked if he wants to go on the road with a band. Miller seizes the opportunity and informs his mother that he'll be gone for a couple days.

The unique twist to this premise is that William Miller is Cameron Crowe and "Almost Famous" is, in a sense, Crowe's memoirs of his experience on the road in the early 70's. According to a recent interview with Crowe, all of it is true except for the name of the band-Stillwater. Most likely for legal reasons, the name of the band was altered.

So, Miller sets out to see Stillwater for the first time at a local concert hall. There, he befriends the band's guitarist and meets a groupie named Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), or at least that's what she says her name is. She insists that she's not a groupie, but she is and Miller knows it.

This small project soon turns into a week-after-week affair, with Miller staying in hotels, going to concerts, riding on the tour bus and trying to work up the biggest story of his life. As he spends day and night with these rock stars, he begins to see some of the flaws in paradise. There's a power play between leaders in the band, and a rift forms when an outside manager offers to make them more money if they'll tour his way. This, according to Miller's idol and legendary music critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the beginning of the end of rock and roll; the days when money took priority over the fans.

Through these months, Miller is introduced to the real world. At 15, his blinders have been removed and he sees the corruption, the betrayal, the lies, and the conflict up close and personal. He has to make a decision between being an honest critic and being a loyal friend. He has to decide when to be serious and when to let go. He learns how to love.

And though this may sound simplistic and silly, it's really not. It is a coming-of-age story from a man who wants to explain what made him who he is. Contributing was a strong-willed sister, an over-bearing mother (Frances McDormand), a groupie, and a music critic. This may not be an average arrangement, but it was all that Miller knew and he's thankful for it.

The direction is sincere, and affectionate. So many moments that could have gone over the top (such as an Elton John moment on the bus) are subtle and, thus, profound. The acting is unforgettable. Fugit gives Miller an innocent heart that learns as it goes. McDormand, as Miller's mother, is fantastic as she reduces grown men to their childhood manners. And, last but not least, Philip Seymour Hoffman once again proves that he is one of the greatest character actors in Hollywood today. He seems to be in every movie that comes out, yet you forget that he's there. You only see his character, whether it be a nurse, a wealthy bachelor, or a passionate music critic.

"Almost Famous" talks about rock music, but it will not turn people off whom know little of early 70's music. The only prerequisite is that you're willing to relive your childhood-if even for a few minutes. Think about what made you who you were. Think about the decisions that really made a difference. Think about the crossroads you passed without even noticing.

Crowe has thought about his childhood, and wants to tell all of us that when he was 15 he missed high school graduation, almost died, fell in love, nearly had a nervous breakdown, and discovered who he was. In the process, he has made on of the best movies of 2000.

by: Steven Snyder steven@zertinet.com, Published 2001-08-01