Cameron Crowe is the Oscar-winning writer-director who firmly established himself as one of the most distinctive cinematic voices working today, creating comedic dramas about the inherent goodness of people. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back Crowe’s 10 greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1957 in Palm Springs, California, Crowe got his start as a teenage music journalist for “Rolling Stone,” touring with the Allman Brothers when he was just 16 years old. His love for rock bands landed him lucrative interviews with such hot groups as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin and the Eagles.
His background in journalism led him to go undercover as a high school student to write a book about the experience of Southern California teenagers that would later become the film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982), which he also wrote the screenplay for. He made his directorial debut seven years later with the adolescent romance “Say Anything…” (1989), which starred John Cusack as a noble slacker who falls in love with the class valedictorian (Ione Skye).
Crowe entered the Oscar race for the first time with “Jerry Maguire” (1996), a redemption comedy centered on a high-power sports agent (Tom Cruise) who suffers a crisis of conscience. The film brought him nominations in Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, won a Best Supporting Actor prize for Cuba Gooding Jr. and earned Cruise a Best Actor bid.
Just four years later, Crowe put his years as a music journalist to good use with “Almost Famous” (2000), which starred Patrick Fugit as a teen writer who tours with a rock group in the 1970s. The film brought him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, earning Best Supporting Actress bids for Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand as well.
In addition to his Oscar victory, Crowe earned WGA bids for “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous,” competing at the DGA for the latter two. He won prizes for writing “Almost Famous” at the BAFTAs and Critics Choice, contending at the Golden Globes additionally.
Tour our photo gallery of Crowe’s best films, including titles mentioned above, as well as “Singles” (1992), “Vanilla Sky” (2001) and more. Our list has films he directed and/or wrote.
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10. THE WILD LIFE (1984)
Image Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock Directed by Art Linson. Written by Cameron Crowe. Starring Christopher Penn, Lea Thompson, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Jenny Wright, Eric Stoltz, Rick Moranis, Hart Bochner, Randy Quaid.
This half-hearted attempt to clone the success of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” proves there can be too much of a good thing. Art Linson’s “The Wild Life” has all the raunch and none of the heart of Amy Heckerling’s 1982 hit, and Crowe seems to be on autopilot with his script about a straight-laced high school grad (Eric Stoltz) who moves into a swinging bachelor pad. A talented cast of ’80’s mainstays (including Chris Penn trying his best to ape his brother Sean Penn’s performance in “Fast Times”) can’t lift this leaden material, which does nothing to distinguish itself from any number of teen comedies churned out during the era.
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9. ALOHA (2015)
Image Credit: Neal Preston/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin.
“Aloha” was pretty much set up to fail, from the leak of Sony emails excoriating its quality before it was released to the controversy over casting Emma Stone as a one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Hawaiian character. All that aside, this is a pretty lackluster romantic comedy from a director who usually excels in the genre. Bradley Cooper stars as a celebrated military contractor who returns to Hawaii after several years away to reconnect with his ex-wife (Rachel McAdams), now remarried with two children. While there, he falls in love with a daredevil Air Force pilot (Stone) who, in typical Manic Pixie Dream Girl fashion, turns him into a better man.
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8. ELIZABETHTOWN (2005)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Starring Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Judy Greer, Jessica Biel, Paul Schneider.
In all fairness, “Elizabethtown” is far from the disaster it was chalked up to be following its premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival, after which 18 minutes was cut from its final release version. Misguided as it may be, it’s also a heartfelt and deeply personal drama about a successful shoe designer (Orlando Bloom) who returns to his Kentucky hometown after the sudden death of his father. Along the way, he falls in love with a plucky airline stewardess (Kirsten Dunst) who aggressively pursues him. Even without the extra footage, the film feels too long and too unwieldy, yet many of the parts achieve a greatness that the whole can’t.
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7. WE BOUGHT A ZOO (2011)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/Shutterstock Directed by Cameron Crowe. Screenplay by Aline Brosch McKenna and Cameron Crowe, based on the book by Benjamin Mee. Starring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, John Michael Higgins.
With “We Bought a Zoo,” Crowe tells a true story filled with whimsy and charm but lacking in drama and pathos. Still, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon with your kids than watching this diverting family entertainment. Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a widower who uproots his family after purchasing a dilapidated wildlife park. (The real Mee took over the Dartmoor Zoological Park in England, while Crowe moves the action to Southern California.) Rather than loosing his shirt, Mee turns the struggling enterprise around, finding love with a beautiful zookeeper (Scarlett Johansson) along the way.
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6. SINGLES (1992)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Starring Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Matt Dillon, Shelia Kelley, Jim True, Bill Pullman, Tim Burton.
After exploring the lives of teenagers in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Say Anything…,” Crowe turned his attentions to the plight of 20-somethings with “Singles.” Set in the burgeoning grunge scene of Seattle, it centers on a group of Gen-Exers living in the same apartment building, focusing on the romantic complications of two couples (Campbell Scott and Kyra Sedgwick; Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda). Rather than constructing a plot, Crowe allows his interesting characters to opine over love, music and coffee in little episodes. Director Tim Burton pops up as a videographer Fonda hires to make a dating tape.
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5. FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Directed by Amy Heckerling. Screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his book. Starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Ray Walston, Forest Whitaker, Vincent Schiavelli, Eric Stoltz, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards.
Crowe kicked off his career with an undercover expose about the lives of Southern California teenagers. His book, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” was later turned into a hit movie that marked his screenwriting debut. Directed by Amy Heckerling, it features some of the frankest discussions of sex ever heard in a high school comedy, setting it apart from the likes of “Porky’s” and other films from the era that featured lecherous boys giggling over naked girls. It also showcased a talented cast of up-and-comers, most notably Sean Penn as the stoner Spicoli, as well as Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, Nicolas Cage and Anthony Edwards.
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4. VANILLA SKY (2001)
Image Credit: Neal Preston/Cruise-Wagner/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, based on the film ‘Abre los Ojos’ written by Alejandro Amenabar and Mateo Gil. Starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Cameron Diaz.
Perhaps Crowe’s most divisive film, “Vanilla Sky” inspires passionate praise and fervent condemnation in equal measure for its twisty, labyrinthine narrative. An English-language remake of Alejandro Amenabar’s “Abre los Ojos” (“Open Your Eyes”), it casts Tom Cruise as a self-centered, extremely wealthy publishing magnate who strings along an unstable friend (Cameron Diaz) he’s sleeping with. When he falls in love with another woman (Penelope Cruz, reprising her role in the original), Diaz takes her revenge with a vehicular accident that leaves his face hideously scarred. And that’s when things get weird. Love it or hate it, this one will keep you guessing, no matter how many times you watch it. An Oscar nominee for Paul McCartney’s original song.
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3. SAY ANYTHING… (1989)
Image Credit: Gracie/Kobal/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Starring John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor, Polly Platt, Bebe Neuwirth, Pamela Adlon, Jeremy Piven, Eric Stoltz, Philip Baker Hall, Joan Cusack.
There are few images more romantic and iconic than that of John Cusack holding a boombox over his head outside of his girlfriend’s (Ione Skye) house. And there are few teenage comedies as authentic and sweet-natured as Crowe’s directorial debut. It’s your typical story of opposites attracting: he the virtuous underachiever, she the class valedictorian. Yet we never doubt for a second that these two were made for each other thanks to their achingly intense chemistry. Crowe populates his film with great side characters, including John Mahoney as Skye’s kind yet disapproving father, Lili Taylor as Cusack’s rocker best friend and Joan Cusack as his sister (in an instance of art imitating life). This is a treat for love birds of all ages.
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2. JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)
Image Credit: Columbia Tri Star/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renee Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O’Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, Regina King, Jonathan Lipnicki.
“Show me the money!” “Help me help you.” “You had me at ‘hello.’” If nothing else, “Jerry Maguire” holds the distinction of being Crowe’s most quotable movie. Tom Cruise gives one of his best performances as a sports agent who loses his job after suffering a crisis of conscience. He sets up shop as an independent contractor representing the one athlete (Cuba Gooding Jr. in an Oscar-winning performance) who wouldn’t drop him. Along the way, he finds love with his secretary (Renee Zellweger), a single mother who teaches him the true meaning of life. Crowe earned Academy Award nominations in Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, while Cruise also contended for Best Actor.
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1. ALMOST FAMOUS (2000)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Cameron Crowe. Starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
With “Almost Famous,” Crowe tapped into his years as a teenage music journalist to create his most personal film yet. Patrick Fugit stars as the director’s surrogate, a pie-eyed youth who finds himself on the road covering a band for “Rolling Stone.” While diving head-first into the 1970s rock and roll scene, he falls in love with the beautiful, ephemeral roadie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson in her breakout role) and keeps his disapproving mother (Frances McDormand) constantly worried. Crowe won an Oscar for his screenplay, which is packed with memorable lines and character roles, including Philip Seymour Hoffman as legendary rock critic Lester Bangs, Billy Crudup as the band’s guitarist and Jason Lee as the lead singer. Hudson and McDormand both competed in Best Supporting Actress, and the film earned an additional bid for film editing. Additionally, it won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical Film.