(Normally, I don’t try to delve too much into what I feel, I try to be more factual. Today, however I am throwing facts out the window, as I have been ridiculously sick for the past week!)

I recently went back and downloaded (through iTunes) all of the movies directed and written by Cameron Crowe. He has many that I  am sure you have heard of: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous &  Elizabethtown are some of the few. Of all of these, I would have to say that my two favorites are Almost Famous and Elizabethtown. There is something magical that takes place when you watch a Cameron Crowe movie. Cameron has this innate ability to capture the moment like no one else.

Almost Famous is the story William Miller is a 15 year old kid, hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with, and write about Stillwater, an up and coming rock band. This wonderfully witty coming of age film follows William as he falls face first to confront life, love, and lingo. (IMDB, 2006)

For example, two of my favorites the parts in his movie Almost Famous  and the part when Penny Lane asked Opie if he wants to go to Morocco with him. He states “Yes! Wait, ask me again” and she promptly asks him again. While anywhere else in any other movie, this would be quite boring, Cameron has this amazing close-up of both characters that captures the moment so perfectly. My second favorite is when the band, Fever Dog, has just had a major (almost Eagles-like) blowout, but Russell manages to get back on the bus and after awhile, they all start singing “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John. Somehow, in a very surrealistic way, you know that all fences have been mended. No dialogue is needed in this scene, in fact dialogue would screw up the scene irrevocably. Whiel some naysayers would be stating that this is crap and nothing was resolved, these people are the same people that don’t seem to undestand that sometimes words aren’t needed.

Now to my other favorite: Elizabethtown. After causing a loss of almost one billion dollars in his company, the shoe designer Drew Baylor decides to commit suicide. However, in the exact moment of his act of despair, he receives a phone call from his sister telling him that his beloved father had just died in Elizabethtown, and he should bring him back since his mother had problem with the relatives of his father. He travels in an empty red eye flight and meets the attendant Claire Colburn, who changes his view and perspective of life(IMDB, 2005).

There are many great moments in this movie! One of the funny ones is after a overnight phone call with Clare the flight attendant, they agree to meet. So they meet up to watch the sunset. After sitting for a few minutes, they both look at each other and state ” We peaked on the phone.” I’m not sure why this is so funny, but I believe it because we live in such a physically disconnected age with our cell phones, Facebook and other social medias that we forgot how to actually be social with another human being face to face. Another great moment is when Drew Baylor, just slightly lost starts yelling at the top of his lungs “Did I miss 60-B?”, the highway that he was supposed to exit onto. I think this is hilarious, as we have all had moments like this one!

So, if you need a good and poignant pick me up, be sure to check out some of Cameron’s movies, you won’t regret it!

Almost Famous plot summary taken from IMBD.com on May 21, 2010 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181875/plotsummary

Elizabethtown plot summary taken from IMDB.com on May 21, 2010 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368709/plotsummary