Cameron Crowe’s Best Scenes

Dre Rivas December 2, 2010

Director Cameron Crowe on the set of 'Elizabethtown'

Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite filmmakers. Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous are among my very favorite films. His last effort, Elizabethtown, was a commercial and critical flop and he hasn’t made a film since. It’s been five years.

The good news is, he has two new projects on the horizon: an untitled Pearl Jam documentary and the Matt Damon-Scar Jo flick We Bought a Zoo (based on the Benjamin Mee memoir). Some are wondering if he’s lost it. But I believe in Crowe’s mojo, so I thought it’d be fun to look back at just a few of my favorite Cameron Crowe scenes. Like 10 of them.

I decided to focus on Crowe’s directorial efforts. Had I not, I fear some scenes would have made the list based purely on Phoebe Cates‘ and Jennifer Jason Leigh‘s skin. Let’s not devolve any further. And with that I give you 10 of my favorite Cameron Crowe scenes.

“Tiny Dancer,” Almost Famous
After getting (very) high on drugs and proclaiming himself a golden god on a potentially career-ending night, Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and the rest of the Stillwater band board their magic bus on what promises to be a rather awkward ride. But the music brings them back. Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” grabs one soul at a time and soon the love of music comes pouring out of everyone in one classic sing-along.

The Plane Scene, Almost Famous
William Miller is flying high over Tupelo, Mississippi, with America’s hottest band and they’re all about to die. Caught in one hell of an electrical storm, apparently destined to go the way of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the most secret confessions, dark and loving, come pouring out of the band’s players and manager, perhaps damaging relationships and reputations forever. The turbulence takes over. This puppy is going down. And then … the plane stabilizes. The pilot screams, “Thank God above! We’re alive! We’re alive, we’re going to make it! Sweet relief!” And everyone wishes they’d just died. It’s character-driven, funny as hell, and leads to the moment where a completely exhausted Russell Hammond tells William, “Write what you want.”

Uncool, Almost Famous
I almost lost myself and went with the more famous “I am a golden god!” scene but as funny as it is, it doesn’t hold a candle to William Miller’s phone call with Lester Bangs. And it has my favorite line in the film: “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”

Dinner Scene, Say Anything
Lloyd Dobler is a great American hero. Watch him discuss his future career plans (or lack thereof). Like many of Cameron Crowe’s creations, he is as earnest and honest as it gets. “I don’t know, I can’t figure it out tonight, sir. I’m just kinda hanging out with your daughter.” Dobler comes off aimless, yes. Without knowing what he wants to do, he knows what he doesn’t want to do and he knows how he wants to live.

“In Your Eyes,” Say Anything

Is it the best get-the-girl-back scene ever? Yes, it just might be.

“Freebird,” Elizabethtown
It’s a shame Elizabethtown is so flawed because it has so many great little moments. It just seems Crowe — always a sentimental guy — kind of forced the issue here. Orlando Bloom seems to be very, very aware he’s in a Cameron Crowe film at times and the movie can be almost a little too cute for its own good. Basically, a lot of what worked in, say, Jerry Maguire just didn’t work here. And yet I still dig a lot of the film. Like I said, there are a lot of great little moments (one of my favorites is perhaps this classic Alec Baldwin cameo after Orlando Bloom has sunk his company’s fortunes on one epically bad shoe design), but most of the last act works, particularly the memorial service highlighted by Paul Schneider and company’s rendition of “Freebird.”

Show Me the Money!, Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) shamelessly groveling to keep his last client is an iconic and hilarious gem. Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. (who I think retired after this movie) are pitch-perfect.

“Secret Garden,” Jerry Maguire

Come on, seeing little Jonathan Lipnicki asking for a hug and how it sort of opens a new door into Mr. Maguire and how it obviously moves Ms. Boyd is pure Crowe goodness. It’s a small moment, but it’s a big small moment. Springsteen’s “Secret Garden” carries us through.

You Complete Me, Jerry Maguire

On the surface, I probably shouldn’t have bought Jerry Maguire’s second moment of clarity, but right there at that moment, I did. A movie this good doesn’t need to preach at length about the dangers of unchecked cynicism. So before Maguire gets too far into his “We live in a cynical world. A cynical, cynical world…” speech, Crowe wisely tells Jerry — and himself — to shut up. Jerry had Dorothy at hello. This scene had me at “I’m looking for my wife.”

The Rooftop, Vanilla Sky
I know I’m going to get the business for putting this on here rather than the seven or eight scenes I left out of Almost Famous alone, and I don’t care. I totally dig Cameron Crowe’s cover of Alejandro Amenabar‘s excellent Abre Los Ojos. Crowe’s ear for music proves particularly effective in this scene. An eerie yet inviting Sigur Ros track (an untitled one at that) carries us into a series of goodbyes and then into the unknown with one last look at what we’re leaving behind. If you buy the journey and take the plunge, it’s as heartbreaking and beautiful as anything Crowe has done. No small feat for what is a pretty wicked trip of a movie. As far as rooftop scenes go, it may not be on the same level as the ones featured in The Room or even the Jason Gedrick extravaganza Rooftops. Maybe in another life, when we are all cats.