bellasings-47917 When I first heard of Bandslam, it seemed to be another shallow movie about high school. It came across as School of Rock for a younger generation, but boy was I wrong. It starts out how you would expect, Will, a loner, moving to a new town & quickly getting caught up in this thing called Bandslam. But as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that this movie isn't about Bandslam at all. Yes, Bandslam may be a large part of the plot, but the characters are the main focus. This movie is full of so many genuine moments, great music & awkwardly funny moments that make it a masterpiece in my eyes. I loved watching it the first time & I enjoy watching it even more the fifth time. It's a hidden gem of a movie that deserves so much more recognition.

zkonedog I really didn't expect much out of the viewing experience as I settled in to watch "Bandslam". Pretty much the only reason I rented it was because of the "Vanessa Hudgens" name and the fact that I thought my younger sister and I would enjoy watching it together. Pretty faces and good music...what can go wrong, right? Unfortunately, the film fell short of even those somewhat less than lofty expectations.For a quick plot summary, the film centers on young high-schooler Will Burton (Gaelen Connell) in the midst of changing schools. Burton, a classic-rock savant of sorts, is quickly befriended/recruited by fellow student and band-leader Charlotte (Alyson Michalka) in order to use his talents to try and win the school's upcoming "Bandslam" competition. Also in the mix is Sam (Hudgens), an unemotional loner who intrigues Will.The biggest problem with this film (besides featuring some of the dumbest exposition in film history) is that, while it markets itself towards children, the subject matter (classic bands, music terminology) is by and large geared towards nostalgic 80s-teens. In this aspect, it suffers from the same problem as 2003's "The School of Rock", although that movie was able to pull through due to the crazy antics of Jack Black. Not only that, but the relationships are so contrived that even young children (like my sister) won't be suckered into them.Further bumping this film down a notch is the poor acting, on the whole. Hudgens (while very beautiful) is by no means a star thespian, while Lisa Kudrow (playing "Mom Burton") plays such an annoying character that it is almost physically uncomfortable to watch. Michalka turns in easily the best performance of the entire piece, with Connell doing a decent job as the lead. Other than that, there's nothing to get excited about.Thus, if you are considering viewing this video due to Hudgens' "High School Musical" reputation, I would recommend the following: Put it down and look elsewhere (as previously mentioned, "School of Rock" would be an excellent same-genre choice). Unless you are easily suckered into the cheesiest of plots/characters, you'll be wondering why you wasted two hours on this.

ptbartman People ask me what I think makes a good movie and I say simple, tell me a good story and tell it to me well. This movie delivers on both counts. The script is like a great hand of Texas hold em. We've seen stories like this a hundred times from the Karate Kid to High School Musical. That's your hole cards. But each time you know what you got, the "dealer" flips another card and it's a whole new hand. Disney (said in a good way) enough for tweens, edgy enough for teens and adults. And "the river card", the ending, well lets just say it surprised me (more than once) and that's saying a lot. Performances were solid especially when you consider that most of the key roles were played by musicians who act as opposed to actors playing musicians.

KineticSeoul When I first saw the the beginning few minutes of this, I thought I wasn't going to like it. With it's typical main character that judges other people because of a certain aspect about them constantly. But than as the movie progressed, I started to like this more and more and when the credit started rolling I was really satisfied. The film is corny and predictable like few reviewers are saying, but the building of the character and the direction and the way the creators decided to go with this actually made it really enjoyable. It's basically about a student in high school that moves to another school, just to be a loner all over again until he meets these two girls he ends up getting along with. And there is a few stereotyping in this film from just how the characters look. What got a bit annoying with the protagonist of this is how he falls for both girls, but pretends he likes another girl, just to end up using her as a back up unless the relationship with the other girl fails. But it sort of helped the film progress and sort of helped it make it into a good ending. Anyways he is really into music and tries to form a band for a competition called bandslam. This is a feel good movie that kids and adults can really enjoy, my smile grew wider and wider while watching this. Just give this a chance, even adults and don't let the first few minutes turn you off.8.3/10