It's from the director of Camp, which was a really good musical.

Yeah, I really enjoyed CAMP. But this looked lame. Then it got great reviews, and now I'll probably check it out on DVD.

If anyone sees this, please report on how big David Bowie's role is. lol

I'm interested to know if it's a solid 10 minute sort of role or a one-second walk-on/"was that DAVID BOWIE?" type role.

Seeing it later today.

don't get caught jerkin' it.

For the person who wanted to know, David Bowie is in the last two minutes of the film, and that's it.

First of all, I LOVED Camp. Wow, where should I start? I liked this film more when it was called "School of Rock." It was also better as "High School Musical." Admittedly, there were some funny historical jokes (I think I remember one about the Nuremburg Laws and what not), and I laughed out loud a few times, but other than that, the film is a real stinker, and I'm surprised the critics like this film so much. Were they high? It slaughters on the cliches; the acting was okay, and the directing was just choopy. Cheesy one-liners would make for a nice, campy horror flick...unfortunately, this film was lacking in the comedy area...its main genre. Despite the ads and commercials, this is NOT a musical (and features TWO performances in the entire film), nor does David Bowie appear in most of the film (he's in the last 3 minutes, though, and that's it). The plot didn't even occur until the very last 10-15 minutes; it felt like a television movie and tried to hard to be a "good" movie that it failed in that aspect. If it was intentionally corny, it would've been much better...unfortunately, it felt too much like a cheesy, cliche soap opera...how much can one take? Needless to say, the Twi-hards absolutely loved the film, and only because of the New Moon trailer.

C+

how was Gaelan Connell, aka kid who went to high school with me.

You mean Will? He was actually really good. He reminded of the guy in ILY,BC....but better.

You went to high school with him? That's so awesome....I know the guy who invented WoW.

Anyway, yeah, he was awkward and funny....just perfect for the part. He and Lisa Kudrow made the film go from a C- to a C+.

This story has been told a thousand times...


...luckily, I never get tired of it!


The cast is plenty charming (especially Ally of Ally & AJ and the lead kid) to overcome the occasional clunkiness in the screenplay.

(One thing that bothered me though, was the choice of song for the finale - - yow! If a real band in this situation had started playing a cover of Bread's "Everything I Own", they woulda been jeered off the stage.)



out of

The movie is fine when the band is playing...which is not nearly often enough.

It never had a chance with that ugly, deranged Shia LeBeouf/Bud Cort looking motherfucker in the lead. Oh, he's terrible! He has like, a lazy eye, has no charisma or acting chops, and always looks like he's about to murder everybody.

YOU WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH HIM TORRINO? Yikes.

BANDSLAM - 8/10 (A-)

Ok, this was a terrific little flick. It looked so terrible too. It was incredibly mismarketed. This is not a Disney-fied High School Musical type flick in the least. This one is a little gem.

And I liked the lead. I agree about him being reminiscent of the guy in I Love You, Beth Cooper.

I thought you might like it

Hudgens was quite good as well. Liked Kudrow too.

Oh yeah, I only mentioned the lead because of the above comment about him. But I was definitely surprised to like Hudgens. I'm not normally a fan, but she was good in this. It has a lot to do with her character being really likable though.

A-

Highly enjoyable. Rewatched the trailer and it's as bad as ever though, no wonder it bombed, and a pity it did too.

Bandslam is a good example of bad marketing at its finest. It was marketed as a typical teen romance/music film that looked completely cliched. The only problem is that it is not bad at all, in fact a great surprise. The film seems more like a bit more grown up version of School of Rock. Sure there is no Jack Black in it and he is basically replaced by a music whiz, but the drive to do well at a local music competition along with some of the jokes seem familiar with School of Rock. The romance angles don't try to make the movie as what it is usually the case when you have films like this. The film also felt very real and not just acted out. The main trio work very well in their parts. Sure this isn't an Oscar-driven film, but for what it is, it is one of the most enjoyable sit back and relax kind of movies released in the past few years. ***1/2