Almost Doesn't Count

This is my way of honoring the memory of Glenn Frey, who will live on in the character Russell Hammond of the movie "Almost Famous". The loveable character that is so misinterpreted by so many. I have yet to see anyone completely correctly read this character. It is important that we thoroughly see a character for who they really are, in order to correctly interpret everything else that they do. The reason for the title of this blog is that a lot of people do understand a lot of things about Russell. But without truly understanding what type of person he really is and why he does everything he does, you can't truly understand why he does any of the things that he does. "Almost" doesn't count.

A lot of the reactions to the Russell and Penny "relationship" or "affair" or whatever you want to call it, is that Penny is some pathetic groupie that falls for this guy who's a total jerk. This particular reaction is the one that makes me the angriest because it's the least accurate and least respectful of the characters and women in general. And I say that because Penny herself says that she is not a groupie, she's a band-aide, and then she goes into detail about what that means. So when people still call her what she says she isn't, they are telling us she doesn't have the right to her own decisions. She has a great point when she says something about how groupies just sleep with "rock stars" to be near someone famous and that's actually accurate. But that is not what she and her crew are about. They have as much agency to what happens to them as the members of the band. And when the audience continues to call her that, it takes away their respect for her as a person. As if they are saying "she thinks she isn't one, but she really is". But she was in fact right about what she said. As irresponsible as it was, she and her friends chose to have that lifestyle for their own reasons, and it wasn't that they didn't have any say so in what happened to them. They weren't objects. They were more like friends of the band, while sometimes hooking up with them. The band saw them as human beings. Especially that particular band, being that they were mostly good people. (except Jeff, he's pretty annoying and awful). But especially Russell, I read into his character that he wasn't that interested in the "rock star" lifestyle, and wasn't into hooking up with a bunch of girls. This is a part of why Penny was so interested in him. She says something at one point about not hooking up with them and we really get a sense of self-respect from her. I really don't remember the exact line, but I remember getting the impression that she hasn't really ever hooked up with any of these guys and that, that is not her usual behavior. This is obviously at least somewhat true and is most likely her appeal because she is highly sought after within the concert community with the other bands. Basically, she's very "hard to get". And I don't know if it's said outright, but it seems as though it's implying that Russell is the only "rock star" that Penny has actually hooked up with.

Plus during this whole movie we see the two together frequently, we don't see either person hooking up with or flirting with any other person of the opposite sex. Penny does hang out with William but obviously, he is literally a child so that is not even on the table as an option. I have seen some say that she should have been with him, or that they thought she liked him. Excuse me while I stab a fork in my neck (thanks Aria and PLL) because that is just gross and wrong. William isn't even eighteen yet, and yes he fell for her, but like that of a childhood crush on an adult. She loved him as a friend and she was sort of motherly with him. His love for her was very childish and shortsighted, he was more fascinated by her than actually in real love with her. She never gave any indication that she was interested in him, because again, he was a child.

So without recapping the entire movie here, let's get into the scene that everyone refers to as why Russell is some terrible jerk. The card game. Okay, we see that the other bands want Penny, and the moment they say this, Russell just really looks stunned and conflicted. Almost like someone just stabbed him in the gut. He very much does not want this to happen, and I would say that he is feeling guilty because he knows she loves him, but later we see that isn't the case and I'll get to that. But he doesn't want to let her go, but his only other option is to outright refuse, and I recall them asking him in a teasing manner something about his wife and why he wouldn't let Penny go. And while even the idea of "selling" another human being is just horrible. This is not Russell's actual doing, he didn't create this situation. This idea that this is acceptable is a part of the culture that he's unwillingly a part of, it was not his idea to do this. This is an awful thing that is going on, I can't even stress that enough, and what's worse is that it is realistic to how women are treated universally. Whether it's obvious like it was here or even in other lifestyles where it happens but it's subtle, and you don't realize it's happening. But my point is that Russell's face throughout this scene is so telling that I can't believe that I seem to be the only person who picks up on this. And side note, props to Billy Crudup for his amazing job on this whole film but especially this scene and the one on the plane and the one on the phone, his facial acting is just on point. So the point is, he is just torn up about even being put in this situation. But if he does say no, he has to admit that he cares, and he's not ready for that yet. For one, he would get teased, but also he's married. Add that to the fact that he doesn't know Penny is in love with him. And we do know this because one of the revelations of the near plane crash is William telling Russell that Penny is in love with him. And he just looks taken aback. So from that, we find out that he really didn't know how she felt. So when we watch it back or think about that scene at the poker game, that is not just him feeling guilty (which would also prove he's not a total jerk) but his discomfort is all about his feelings for her.

But the really big indicator is that once he finds out his wife is cheating, he obviously leaves her because he calls Penny. He pretty much confesses his love for her and wants her address. He really did love her back all that time, he just didn't know how she felt. But even before he found out she felt that way, he did not want to treat her badly. So keep that in mind while watching this movie. Russell is absolutely not a jerk, at all. Penny is not some random girl in his life. They fell in love. If you're going to watch TV or movies, at least pay attention to the actors and how they actually feel. Please.