MovieChat Forums > Almost Famous (2000) Discussion > Can't stand Penny Lane. Anyone else?

Can't stand Penny Lane. Anyone else?

posted 12 years ago by crimewavebetty
46 replies | jump to latest

I love Almost Famous. As a 26 year old who discovered classic rock during middle school, this movie makes me wish I had been around in the 60s and 70s when, in my opinion, music was at its very best.

Having said that, one thing about this movie has always bothered me, and that's the character of Penny Lane. I'm not familiar with "groupies", or "band-aids", or whatever they choose to call themselves. I don't know what it's like to follow a band around, or how life is on the road. Is this how "groupies" acted back in the day, fawning over rock stars? Penny Lane just aggravates me every single time I watch this film. I understand she is supposed to be "cool" and kind of "mysterious", but it's more annoying than it is fascinating. She seems delusional (chasing after Russell), and the little games she plays (like how Anna Paquin's character narrates the scene at the party: "Act One, in which she pretends she doesn't care about him . . .", and then proceeds to tell William that Penny used him as an excuse to go to the party to see Russell), and just how she acts in general. It comes off as if she's trying too hard to be cool, at least to me. Is she just a young girl in love who does the typical stupid things that young girls in love usually do? I know that, by the end of the movie, she seems to wake up and has a change of heart, but she just p*sses me off throughout the entire film.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find her obnoxious? Am I missing the point of the character? (Probably. Things always go over my head.)

[–] ric_boy 10 years ago

For some reason that I can't understand, I also get vaguely annoyed by Penny Lane in certain scenes. Whenever I see the "flight attendant" spiel that she does I find it very obnoxious and overbearing.

It strikes me as this quality that I see in some people, like she's trying to be the most popular girl in the room, and maybe she is, but really she's just the one who talks the loudest so that everyone pays attention to her. I get annoyed by people like that, man or woman.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Metatron_Fallen 8 years ago

Perspective is everything isn't it?

I just watched the theatrical version and really liked her character.

I know there's a lot of scenes I haven't seen that would give me a different taste. This is one reason I watched the theatrical version first.

A lot of people never think about how important the editor is for a film (or any story really) but they are actually more important than the director in my opinion. Directors will often shoot a scene several different ways but it's the editor, in the end, that always tells the story with the selection.

This thread is a good demonstration of that.

The theatrical version is a nice tight story and Penny is essential.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

She said she was 16 in the first scene. SIXTEEN!!! She was a kid, a runaway. Russell had to be 24 at least, and took a kid in a bus across state lanes.

[–] FilmStar (408) 4 years ago

Penny is just a groupie who unfortunately is a fool in love. She acted like she wasn't going to get in the way of Russell and his girlfriend, but of course, was secretly hoping he would pick her. She was told not to go to New York and went anyways which led to her getting her heart broken and almost ODed. But at least she learned at the end by deciding to continue with her plans to Morocco compared to following around rock stars who used her.

[–] Artisan (3464) 4 years ago

I don't think she is supposed to be all that likable really. She is very young and way over her head, thinking she has all these men under control but they are trading her for beer. She is lost and thinks everyone loves her when really she is just there for her amusement.

And I think on some level she knows that.

[–] BourbonKing (5760) 4 years ago

I always thought her character was sugarcoated, but I also felt that way about the main character himself. I dunno, I've read so many stories about groupies from the 60s, 70s, and 80s and this movie made it look more like a Big Brothers of America outing for all of the youngin's

[–] lemonhead1 (423) 2 years ago

She got on nerves too, but that ex-wife/girlfriend of Russell had the biggest "bitch face" of any character I've ever seen! I wish Russell would've dumped her and left with Penny.
BTW, the only reason Kate Hudson got that part is because of who her mom & step-dad are, because she is way overrated!