A new kid in town assembles a fledgling rock band -- together, they achieve their dreams and compete against the best in the biggest event of the year, a battle of the bands. Bandslam is one of those rare films that you don't really know what to expect but it was freaking amazing. Great messages about love and friendship, terrific music, the entire cast does a great job (especially Kudrow) and even has a cameo from the late David Bowie i mean what's there not to love? Such a funny, full of heart and just terrific comedy, drama, music that really is a suprise.. (10/10)

Oh god, where do I even start. I was reading about this movie somewhere online and thought it sounded like a really good idea. The thought of a bunch of misfits who are into music and want to start a band sounded like a great idea. The first half an hour in I really enjoyed the movie. It was really funny. However, after a while it got so annoying it was hard to take. First of all, as a teenager myself, I don't think this movie is relate-able to older or younger teens. It's much too witty and classic rock savvy for tweens to understand, and too corny and hokey for older teens to like.The movie obviously lacked a target age demographic. I also found that the characters where not very likable. Will didn't have any negative character traits (unless you count awkward,) which made him seem like he couldn't be a real person. I also found the whole reason that he was made teased in his previous school INCREDIBLEY unrealistic. As for Charlotte, it seemed odd that she would start a band to try to be nice to people. Her whole motive made no sense to me. However, I do think that Aly Michalka playing Charlotte was the best performance in the film. I liked Sa5m a lot. She was angsty, sarcastic and whimsical. Unfortunately I started to REALLY dislike her the second half of the movie because she completely changed characters and started smiling, which got on my nerves. Finally, I think that this movie got mixed up with what the term "indie" means. Indie means a band that is apart of an independent record label. Most of the bands in this movie where Classic Rock or Classic Alternative. The only indie bands mentioned where The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, and Peter Bjorn and John. In conclusion, I tried to like this movie. It was such a good idea, I REALLY REALLY wanted to. But in the end, this movie just ended up sounding poserish and unhip. The movie was a lot of fun, but definitely not something I would watch again.

Parts of this film were good...and kept you interested in what was coming next...but then part of it was so predictable you could leave the room and still know what was going on when you came back 20 minutes later...as it drags along so slowly. The new kid...Will..moves into town with his rather odd mother...and tries to start fitting in somehow. Right away...he meets two girls...one is a dark brooding emo chick...who is overly serious..about what we aren't too sure...and the other girl is a blonde who is trying to be overly mature for her age with witty comments and attitude to match. She once was a cheerleader...but that was..as she puts it "in another life"....how deep can you get? She has left all the trappings of being a silly high school girl..including a jock boyfriend...(who looks way too old to be in high school to begin with). She is also the lead singer for a band trying really hard to stand out but cannot find a real way to do it...they simply attempt to do covers of rock songs..and do it pretty badly...but...of course..they think they are THE BEST at it. The band is made up an odd assortment of kids...the kind that don't fit into the mainstream...and they plan to win BIG at BANDSLAM...which is THE EVENT of every year. The problem is though...they will be up against another band with more or less the same name....GLORY DOGS...I guess finding an original name was just too hard to do. Will..being the cool kid he really is...(and he doesn't know it...)gets the band to re-think everything...their style, their music..etc..etc...and POOF...they suddenly the PERFECT BAND! While all this is going on...Will is also trying to decide which girl he truly likes the most...and which one truly likes him in return. Neither girl is the "girl next door"...and we wonder what will become of them after high school...when the real world comes knocking. The movie is kind of a coming of age thing...kids trying to find their identities while trying to survive high school at the same time. None of the characters have any real depth...as if what they are doing at that moment is all they ever will do in life. No one will peak any farther than they have already...mundane lives for everyone...with the only highlight being BANDSLAM..which they will talk about over and over to anyone who might listen. The director was trying to cash in on using Vanessa Hudgens...the cute girl from High School Musical...and she tries to do the exact opposite of what she did for Disney...tries a little too much really. And...the other girl is very overly sexy with pouty lips and smoldering facial expressions that are way too old for her to be doing. Both girls are going to attract the attention of men way too old for either of them. Gross. Anyway...it is a decent film....for the most part. I am not sure if it is suppose to be a cutting edge indie type film...or just a film that was made on a low budget. Either way...it is one most teens would enjoy...even though they might not have a clue who David Bowie or Cheap Trick is.

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