In spite of what it says up there in the headline, I think we can all agree that what follows is most definitely NOT the definitive list of the best films of the aughts decade. In truth, it is impossible to produce such a list. I am but an individual, and though I spent an absurd amount of time in the last 10 years watching, talking and writing about movies, your opinion and mine are equally valid when it comes to judging art.
That being said, I dig my list. It’s the best list this 34-year-old white male with expansive-though-mainstream tastes could produce, and I’ll be happy to defend it in the comments section. And stay tuned to Daily Loaf for my thoughts on the best films of this past year — which I’ll decide once I’ve caught up with all the contenders in early 2010.
1. ALMOST FAMOUS (2000)
I spent most of my college years obsessed with ’70s hard rock (Led Zeppelin in particular). Cameron Crowe’s delightful Almost Famous captures that era through the eyes of a 15-year-old high school kid (Patrick Fugit) who talks his way into a gig writing for Rolling Stone. Sounds like fantasy, but Crowe based the film on his own experiences as a teen tailing The Eagles, The Allman Brothers and the mighty Zeppelin itself. That Crowe also included a warts-and-all portrait of his warring sister (Zooey Deschanel) and mother (Francis McDormand, more perfect than usual) is just icing. This entire movie is an acting clinic, featuring wonderful supporting turns from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Lee, Billy Crudup and the single best performance Kate Hudson will ever give. Even Jimmy Fallon shows up — and he’s good! Yes, you can argue that Almost Famous glosses over the the seedy underbelly of the drugs and groupie scene so prevalent in the ’70s (and now, probably), but that’s missing the point. Crowe was there, and he’s choosing to remember mostly the good times. Watching Almost Famous, you can see why.
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2009.