Bandslam

When I first saw the posters and trailers for Bandslam, I saw that it had two Disney Channel actresses and that the film was made by Disney. The only thought going through my head was, "Oh no, another cheesy musical." After the film was released on Friday, I was hearing positive things about the film from friends and other critics so I decided to give it a chance. Little did I know that I was in for a pleasant surprise.
Bandslam is about a crazy David Bowie fan named Will Burton(Gaelan Connel)who is mocked at his school and has no friends. Soon his mother(Lisa Kudrow) gives him the happy news that they are moving to New Jersey. Now Will has the chance to start over and make friends at his new school, and he gets off to a great start when he meets Charlotte Banks(Alyson Michalka.) Charlotte soon learns of Will's vast knowledge of music and recruits him to be the manager of her rock band. The romantic side of the film appears when Will meets Sam(Vanessa Hudgens) and they are paired together for a class project in which they need to learn as much about each other as they can. Now Will must balance spending time with Sam and preparing his band for the biggest competition in his new town, the battle of the bands.
One of the reasons I liked this film is because of the way that the scenes and the pacing of the film was presented. To me, the first half of the film seemed almost like a documentary with a kid following Will around with a camera. Because of this, the movie does a good job of letting us get to know the main characters. The movie tells us about Will's personality and as the film goes on we get to know his past as well. The movie also develops the other two, Sam and Charlotte, and overall the writers do a great job with character development. Now that we know the characters, the second half of the film shifts towards the dramatic and romantic side. Bandslam shows us what kind problems and obstacles high school students face through Will and Charlotte. Surprisingly, this film becomes serious at times when dealing with some of Will and Charlotte's issues and/or past and also shows us that these three young-adults can act.
While this film isn't a musical it does include a few songs and they are actually pretty enjoyable. The film doesn't drown us with the pop music found in High School Musical but instead shows us a sound that isn't found in films as much and that sound is "ska." The final song of the film includes an enjoyable mix a guitars, trumpets, piano, and even a cello which form together to make a song that I didn't laugh at when it was said and done.
Bandslam is a film that includes drama, romance, and a lot of laughs while avoiding other negative elements like sex, language, or crass humor making it a great one for the family. I walked out of the theater surprised at the good acting, good music, and good story that Bandslam included. 3.5 out of 5.
Bandslam has a running time of 1 hour and 51 minuets and is rated PG for some thematic elements and mild language.