Review of Bandslam (2009) by Brooke A — 03 Apr 2010

It was easy to look at the previews to Todd Graff's Bandslam and think to myself "Is Hollywood unloading yet another music filled teen flick on us?" And yes, seeing Vanessa Hudgens, of High School Musical fame, as one of the central characters did reaffirm the notion that this was in deed going to be one of those films. Surprisingly though, Todd Graff's film, co-written by Josh A. Cagan, is a lot better than you'd might expect. It can come on strong at times with some of its themes, but rarely does it go overboard. The film is sweet, simple, short and full of a lot of surprising humor.

Typically the thing that kills it for me with the majority of teen films these days is the amount of annoying characters in them. Characters like the bitchy cheerleader, the obnoxious jock, the free-spirited art girl, the obsessive best friend and so on tend to add up to a bad experience. But I like the characters here in Bandslam, mainly because they didn't fit into the standard teenage movie mold. And there was a decent bit of casting done for the film to make these characters come to life and not feel paper-thin.

Bandslam follows Will Burton (Gaelan Connell), a music enthusiast who has just moved to a different school after his previous school proved to be a difficult time for him. Quickly he sparks a friendship with Sa5m (Vanessa Hudgens); the 5 is silent in her name by the way. His vast knowledge of music also sparks the interest of Charlotte (Aly Michalka), a once popular girl who now hangs out with kids from the bottom of the popularity pole who wants Will to help her and her band win the local music competition called Bandslam. Mainly to get back at her ex-boyfriend, who hijacked her former band from under her, but the record contract that comes with winning the competition would also be nice.

Like I said, the thing that makes Bandslam work so much better than most teen movies these days is the great characters and the great casting. Gaelan Connell is the perfect choice for a character like Will Burton; he's not too cute to make it unbelievable that he isn't popular, nor is he too fugly for you to be horrified by him. And he is a charming young actor, and commands a great performance in the film. I really liked him during the scenes he shared with Vanessa Hudgens, who was also strong in this film. The two make a charming pair together in the film. And I don't want to forget to mention Aly Michalka, who also delivers a fantastic performance in the film.

Some will look at Bandslam and pass it off as just another teen movie, but I hope most people who see it don't feel that way. It does use familiar tactics, but it doesn't use them purely to tug at the strings in your heart. Speaking of heart, Bandslam is a film that has its heart in the right place. It's a good natured film that actually presents teenage life in a realistic fashion. Sure, the ending is a bit corny but not enough to ruin the film for me.