For lack of a better term, one can call this a return to form. No better way to end a four-year legacy than to return to the roots that you started from (this isn’t the last article from me yet, don’t worry). Ms. Keenan inspired this article to be written, as per her amazing movie recommendation of ‘‘Almost Famous’’, directed by Cameron Crowe. You (regretfully) probably know him for ‘‘We Bought a Zoo’’ but he is more than the man who made Matt Damon lose his Oscar in 2011 (seriously, no good movies came out that year), and this movie is the altar that proves the claim.

The fact that the film allowed for what is probably going to be the final film review for the year (unless someone watches ‘‘Challengers’’, arts and entertainment editor) should say enough about the quality of this work of fiction. It follows a 15-year-old William Muller (played by Patrick Fugit) who aspires to be a rock journalist in 70s California. He lands a deal with Rolling Stone to write a piece on the fictional rock band ‘‘Stillwater’’, headed by duo Jeff Bebe (played by Jason Lee) and Russel Hammond (Billy Crudup). As with most bands of the era, creative friction, and steamy dramatics would cause clashes between management, advertisement, and, in William’s case, reportability of the band while on their ‘‘Almost Famous’’ tour. Joining the band is Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson), a self-proclaimed ‘‘Band-Aid’’ (groupie in layman’s terms), who reignites a romantic affair with Russel Hammond, adding to the series of events that William is meant to report upon. As per William’s mentor’s advice (Lester Bangs, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman), he is to report everything ‘‘honestly and unmercifully’’, clashing with his desire to grow close with the bandmates. After pressures grow from school, his mother, and the growing tension occurring after each show, William finally leaves and sends the report to Rolling Stone.

Why write about this movie specifically? I’ve been keeping track of the films I’ve watched this year, and over 100 have been watched since September. Why write about this one? I guess there is bias in the selection. William has beaten me in the race for journalistic fame, starting at 15 changed many things. Yet, this film is inspiring. Not only for me but for people who love writing. People who love the art of music. People who want to appreciate the crannies of history that speed out of the pouring 70s. Those who will end up blowing through the wind like a leaf with no direction home and those who will sit in between the guardrails of the life they have set out for themselves. There isn’t a right answer for how to get through this life, but if you aren’t enjoying the path there, it probably isn’t right. That’s one of the things I got from this film. 

Maybe the setting of the 1970s is unappetizing to you or rock isn’t your thing, but more factors make up the film’s greatness. The sublimity of the cast of characters parodying the fantastical giants of the 70s while having moments to touch down on Earth makes you feel as though you’ve known them all your life, only now realizing it through the drug-induced eyes of the psychedelic times. Jason Lee and Billy Crudup carry the film on their shoulders as their characters carry the band on their shoulders, providing both the humor and dramatic tone that is intertwined so well within one another that they become inseparable near the end (especially on the plane). Even Jimmy Fallon’s prominence in the film isn’t enough to ruin the experience (and that is an impressive feat to be accomplished). Philip Seymour’s character feels like a return to familiarity every time he appears on the screen, holding the viewers close before being released into the mega drop of life on the road with a band full of narcotics, women, and fortune (or lack thereof, but who could tell?).

You may not cry, but you will surely laugh. You will be affected by characters leaving and you will become invested in the progress of William’s paper and curious about the future of Penny Lane, by the time you’re at the end, you will want to return to what the movie just made you feel for that split second when the band was singing ‘‘Tiny Dancer’’ in the tour bus, or when notes of a rare Neil Young performance of ‘‘Cortez the Killer’’ are being strummed at the airport when the characters split paths. You will miss those few seconds of darkness that linger at the film’s very end while ‘‘Tangerine’’ by Led Zeppelin plays. You will miss a time you were half a decade too young to even experience, and this movie will be there to quench all of those thirsts while drying you up to the Sahara when you realize it’s all in the past. But that’s the great thing, as since it’s already happened, that means it can happen again but only better.