"Almost Famous" is almost fantastic. Superb dialogue, outstanding direction, acting and casting; unfortunately this near perfect script is marred by a single pivotal scene.

The film opens in the year 1969 with William's eighteen-year-old sister dropping the needle on a Simon and Garfunkel record as she steps out the door, "This song explains why I'm leaving home to become a stewardess!"

William, after recently discovering that he's only eleven and not thirteen, explores the mother-forbidden albums left behind by his sister: The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream.

Fast-forward four years, the nerdy adolescent William finds himself assigned to write a story on the up-and-coming rock band "Stillwater."

Patrick Fugit (William) does a major chord job of staging that awkwardly wonderful adventure of maturing in the wild circus around him. Kate Hudson (the woman in the poster) plays groupie (sorry, that should be "band-aid") Penny Lane warmly and whimsically. "One day, you'll be cool," She says with her hands on William's shoulders. Shot with the camera point blank between her eyes ... we feel like she's resting on our shoulders and speaking directly to us.

Then there's Billy Crudup (guitar player Russell Hammond). Just before the film a fellow reviewer friend mentioned that he was supposed to be the next best thing ... for the past five years. "Almost Famous," I thought. Actually, enjoying his performances in several less than great films, I expected fame from him as well. He's "incendiary" ... in a low-key, gentle, kind of way.

Frances McDormand as William's "Don't do drugs" mom is also smashing. You'll remember her from her other awesome performance in "Fargo."

The film progresses behind the scenes of a rock concert tour that had me just waiting for that final rock chord crescendo so that I could stand up, cheer and light my lighter (if I had one). But I didn't have a lighter, and then that one flawed scene just seemed to fly out of the clear beautiful blue sky like a stalled jet plane striking the screen like nails on a chalkboard; ultimately deflating my ovation to grin.

Interestingly enough, teenage rock journalist Cameron Crowe (writer/director) tagged along after quintessential rock star Peter Frampton back in the day, who was gracious enough to coach the "Stillwater" players. Frampton chuckles, "I remember sitting with Cameron in the studio - just like William with his notepad in the film - we were fast friends from then on. And now I'm working for him."

Almost one of my top ten titles for the year, this imperfect diamond still has much to enjoy.

*** BOOKS & MUSIC by Author/Musician Ross Anthony ***