This has to be one of the most surprising films of the year. I walked into the cinema expecting ‘Bandslam’ to be another ‘High School Musical’ style film but instead I found myself watching a well-written comedy-drama that had elements of ‘The Wonder Years’ and ‘Adventureland’. ‘Bandslam’ has none of the cheesy you would expect and is instead a pleasant watch.
Will Burton (Gaelan Alexander Connell – ‘Chocolat’) lives a troubled life. He is bullied at school everyday and uses music and writing to David Bowie to escape. However things change for him when his mother, Karen (Lisa Kudrow – ‘Hotel For Dogs’ TV’s ‘Friends’) announces that they are moving to New Jersey. At his new school Will quickly makes friends with the very independent Sa5m (Vanessa Hudgens – ‘High School Musical’ Triology) and to his great surprise the very attractive Charlotte (Alyson Michalka – ‘Sweet 16: The Movie’). Will tries to juggle his friendship with Sa5m with managing Charlotte’s band, not any easy task with the pressures of the ‘Band Slam’ competition coming up. Worse still Will is hiding a secret that could potentially upset his new life.
The biggest surprise with ‘Bandslam’ is the fact that the screenwriters involved have ended up creating interesting, non-plastic, real characters; not the kind that prance around their school singing and dancing, but kids that view school as a battleground, kids who are picked on for the music they listen and struggle to be accepted by those around them.
Director, Todd Graff (‘Camp’) allows this story to tell itself in a way that is appealing to the teens that will flock to see Vanessa Hudgens but won’t bore those after a story with substance. The most pleasing thing is that a music lover you can’t help but like the film; telling kids that it doesn’t matter that they like listening to artists like David Bowie (even though it may be considered ‘uncool’) is a great message and Graff should be proud of the way he gets it across.
Two more breathes of fresh air in ‘Bandslam’ are relative newcomers Alyson Michalka and Gaelan Alexander Connell; both are great to watch and pull off unique roles really well. Whatsmore this is one ‘teenage’ film where the actors actually have to have some talent and skills. Vanessa Hudgens also shows that she has life outside ‘High School Musical’, her character of Sa5m (the 5 is silent) is memorable and interesting.
‘Bandslam’ is a truly good film that certainly breaks the stereotype that ‘teenage’ films have to be cheesy and boring to watch. This is a breath-of-fresh-air in the genre and is easily accessible for both adults and teens alike.
Year: 2009
Director: Todd Graff
Stars: Gaelan Alexander Connell, Lisa Kudrow, Vanessa Hudgens, Alyson Michalka
Classification: PG
Runtime: 111 mins
Rating: 