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"Almost Famous" has once again brought the career of Cameron Crowe to the limelight. The former Rolling Stone writer is riding a wave of success that has most recently seen "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire." In addition to these films, Crowe directed two earlier cinematic standouts in "Say Anything" and "Singles." His films possess an appreciation for the teen and twentysomething culture. His background as a writer for Rolling Stone shows in the authenticity of the portrayal of the culture around musicians that can readily be viewed in the recent "Almost Famous" and the earlier "Singles." Though it did not share the same popularity and critical acclaim of "Almost Famous", "Singles" is a fine effort from Crowe.
"Singles" is the story of a group of young, twentysomething adults who stumble through dating and hinge on living a life of being eternally single. The film is centered around an apartment building for singles in Seattle. There are many wonderful shots of the city of Seattle and Crowe does fine work romanticizing the town that spawned grunge. A large part of the film takes part in the courtyard of the apartment building or in the apartments themselves.
The first couple is Janet Livermore (Bridget Fonda) and Cliff Poncier (Matt Dillon). Cliff is the lead singer of a band called Citizen Dick. He enjoys a free-spirited life and looks at Janet as a casual partner. Janet, however, is completely obsessed with Cliff and believes she is part of something special with him. Cliff is not a talented individual, and oblivious to that fact. Critically, his band is considered talented (and why not, they are portrayed by Pearl Jam), but the town of Seattle wishes he would call someplace else his home. Compared to his long hair and rough edges, Janet is a clean and orderly young lady who wishes to return to college. She is the ´girl next door,´ while Cliff is easily the boy from the ´other side of the tracks.´
The second couple is Steve Dunne (Campbell Scott) and Linda Powell (Kyra Sedgwick). These two people have both nearly given up on dating when they find each other. Linda is emotionally scarred and unsure of letting herself become involved. She is an environmentalist who is preparing to embark on a month-long scientific cruise. Steve, on the other hand, is a transportation engineer who is hard at work on promoting a new ´super train´ to help relieve the transportation gridlock in Seattle. Both are intelligent, mature adults who are warm and compassionate.
The two couples provide two completely different looks on love and relationships. Janet and Cliff are about comic relief and the earlier days of dating. They are both beginning their romantic lives and are clumsy about love. Steve and Linda, however, provide the feelings of sadness and true compassion for each other. They are very mature and ready to settle down. Their relationship provides the deep emotional moments of "Singles."
Throughout the film, both couples run into troubles and take separate paths. The feeling is that Janet and Cliff should be apart, but Steve and Linda have made the wrong choice. It becomes a story of how they are consoled by their friends on matters of love and how they view the relationship that is now over. "Singles" does a wonderful job of portraying the ups and downs of dating for people just starting in the world in today´s world. There are very minor problems with the film. First of all, Steve and Linda come off as being too mature and too wise to be in their mid to late twenties. They look much older than the rest of the cast. The film also strays at times to show the determination of the four principle characters and how they strive to cement their existence in the world before allowing someone else to share space with them. As a whole, the story works.
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