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Bandslam
2009
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54 %
81 %
Certified Fresh
$ 12 Million
See Where to Watch
Bandslam
Positive Reviews
56
Negative reviews
12
Average Rating
3.1
/5
musical
respectful
emotional
original
terrific
All
Positive
Negative
3.2
Throughout its first two acts, Bandslam is charming, sweet, and funny enough to merit inclusion in the upper echelon of teen comedies.
Av Club
3.5
But theres enough of a strong filmmaking backbeat in Bandslam to carry the movies light tune.
EW
3.8
What makes the film work is its feeling for the characters, and the appeal of the leads.
Rogerebert
4.0
The movie makes you believe that young women as beautiful as Hudgens and Michalka would find Will attractive.
Common Sense Media
3.0
Better still, a knowingly hip School of Rock attitude to what constitutes good musical taste, coupled with a flock of seminal vintage and indie tunes, ..
Time Out
1.3
Further dampening the viewers sympathies is the shitty, hugely unsatisfying way one character is treated by cohorts in the wake of a late emotional tr ..
4.5
Rife with spirit lifting scenes of teens singing their hearts out. And it feels just that good, in a quirky smart way.
3.0
Its an elating moment, and an uncommon one: Wills triumph doesnt come from taking down his classmates but by bringing them up to his own level, and it ..
3.0
Watching this film is about as cutting edge as buying a Clash T shirt at Wal Mart.
E Film Critic
3.1
But the vibe is mellow.The humor has a nice, cockeyed bent to it.
San Francisco Chronicle
3.5
Yes, the plot is totally predictable.But the smart script consistently tweaks the formula, allowing director/cowriter Graff to pull off the near impos ..
Ny Daily News
2.5
Bandslam offers some nice observational and comedy moments, and director and co writer Todd Graff deftly deliver the coming of age goods for the three ..
The Globe And Mail
3.2
Isnt going to win any awards, but its a distinct step up from most striving against the odds high school movies.
One Guys Opinion
1.5
Todd Graffs film is written with a desperate cleverness that clamors for attention over the brainless against the odds music competition plot.
Village Voice
2.8
Though predictable, it at least tries to put on a fresh face to a tiresome old feelgood story.
Sover
3.2
A spry teen melodrama whose refusal to pander to its audience is refreshing.
Eric Ds Nider
2.0
The music is the movies best feature, but even thats not muchmainly noodly teeny bopper drivel and bubble gum cover versions of semi classic pop rock.
News Review
4.0
Thats a tri state rock band competition thats as big as Texas high school football and where the winning group is awarded a recording contract.
Screen It
4.0
Yet I loved Bandslam all the same: Graff has wonderfully captured not just the emotional havoc of adolescence but its passionate belief in music as a ..
Independent
3.0
And where this film surprises us is in the way it approaches teen life with a blast of intelligence.
Shadows On The Wall
3.0
The Nature of Imitation is the sound of Dorian Concept systematically deconstructing various genres, stripping them back to the bones underneath and t ..
Pop Matters
4.4
Simultaneously shiny and retro, calibrated and uncalculated, familiar and unpredictable, Todd Graffs Bandslam tips its hat to the late John Hughes, th ..
News Day
3.1
THERE are no drugs or sex but lots of rock n roll in Bandslam, which basically grafts an old John Hughes movie onto the squeaky clean world of High Sc ..
New York Post
2.5
BANDSLAM Aly Michalka, Gaelan Connell, Vanessa Hudgens; rated PG (violence, slurs, vulgarity, brief drugs); in general release For a movie thats clear ..
Deseret News (Salt Lake Ci ..
3.8
Bandslam is Camp with rock n roll instead of show tunes, but its roots go back to the Busby Berkeley backstagers and Mickey and Judy lets put on a sho ..
Boston
3.5
Its all pretty predictable yet despite the occasional lapses into cuteness, it has a lot more going for it than the standard teen movie.
Smh
3.8
Instead of the vapid drivel youd expect from their Disneyfied crowd, Bandslam turns out to be a charming (and well soundtracked: Hello, Wilco!) little ..
Star Tribune
1.5
Thats how you get a rock n roll movie this calculated for sweet, feel good blandness.
3.8
More School of Rock than High School Musical, the latest tale of movie teens out to put on a big show has a scruffier brand of charm than its squeaky ..
Toronto Star
4.0
Bandslam is a witty, touching, cleverly plotted film with excellent music and it made me feel for the first time in years that Id like to be an Americ ..
Guardian
2.0
Heres a high school movie with its heart in the right place, displaying a likable enthusiasm for classic rocknroll, and also, with its references to B ..
Guardian
4.0
Todd Graff orchestrates the plot elements with skill and brings the emotional and musical climax together in synch with the story climax, so the payof ..
3.5
Youve got the sweetest, funniest, most decent and happiness filled teen movie of the year on your hands, one that parents can take kids to see because ..
Movies
3.8
Connell essays the classic underdog protagonist, and his Will Burton is someone the viewer actively wants to root for.
The Movie Boy
3.0
Bandslamfeatures such a refreshingly unglamorous portrayal of teenage life and showcases such grounded performances from Connell and Hudgens that it p ..
The Irish Times
2.0
Whether your nine year old niece will care about that is moot but shell definitely resent the poor ratio of musical numbers to clunky, contrived emoti ..
Total Film
1.5
Its been called too simple, stupid, shallow and a dozen other insults.
7M Pictures
3.5
Whenever the music is playing, its tough to fight the urge to rock out right in your theater seat.
E Online
4.5
Though not entirely naff, this teen films casting of Vanessa Hudgens is clearly an attempt to get High School Musical fans on board, but overall this ..
Film Ink
1.5
These have become the default settings for any teen film wanting to inspire its demographic with aspirational themes, but when its as laboured and ove ..
The Age
3.0
Kooky, cute and genuinely funny, she proves that she can play the emo chick just as well as the brain box, making this an immensely enjoyable, if pred ..
Digital Spy
2.2
Theres a great movie somewhere in Bandslam, but Graff wont allow its natural vitality to take flight.
Brian Or Ndorf
3.1
Connell in particular gives a strong central performance, and a couple of the musical numbers are infectious.Maybe Hudgens should reconsider something ..
Js Online
3.5
But you need to look like its not rehearsed even when youre doing takes.
Hollywood Chicago
2.0
This weeks TLS October 5, 2018 America on the brink; a new poem by Paul Muldoon; the journalism of Javier Marias; making the medieval modern; female l ..
Entertainment Times Online ..
3.0
This weeks TLS October 5, 2018 America on the brink; a new poem by Paul Muldoon; the journalism of Javier Marias; making the medieval modern; female l ..
Entertainment Times Online ..
3.0
This oddly toned high school flick, starring Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from Friends) and HSMs adorable star Vanessa Hudgens, may boast less of the X Factor ..
Metro
3.0
High school... Vanessa Hudgens... kids making music. We know what youre thinking, but youre wrong.
Jam! Movies
3.0
Implausible, formulaic, too ponderous for young kids, not cool enough for teenagers and yet strangely hard to resist. File away under extremely guilty ..
Film4
1.9
It seems acutely unaware of how casually sick some of its themes are.
Boston Phoenix
3.0
And there still museums with pay what you wish admission, if not every day, then on certain days weekly or monthly.You just have to know who offers wh ..
New York Time Out
3.0
Theres no edge, but if youre young enough to not know the original version of I Want You To Want Me, Bandslam may have charms enough to tickle your tw ..
Orlando Sentinel
3.8
It is an unexpectedly sophisticated and astute drama as much as a rousing musical celebration.
The Dispatch (Lexington, N ..
3.5
Finds just the right tone for its teen struggles and rites of passage, with wit that sometimes gives clichs a big ol wedgie, and sometimes winds up on ..
Metromix.com
5.0
The article requested cannot be found!.Please refresh your browser or go back.
Ny Press
3.5
Part of me wanted to shove Bandslam aside for being aside as a teen exploitation piece of junk about a ragtag bunch of misfits ... but, interestingly ..
MSN Movies
3.5
A little edgier than High School Musical and a little smarter than the usual tween fare, Bandslam is a refreshing late summer treat for tweens, teens, ..
Movie Mom
3.5
Thanks to the thrilling finale, X Games 3D manages to deliver the adrenaline that should have run throughout the film.
Kc Active
1.5
Its perfect for families, but never patronising. Sassy, but not saucy. Its the Missing Link between wholesome kiddie fare and 15 rated smut like Super ..
News Of The World
3.0
What appeared to be another High School Musical, Bandslam delivers a well written script and an in depth story with sprinkles of cliches throughout.
3.8
Surprise! This aint no Disney fied cotton candy movie. It has more bite, angst and soul than that.
Dc5
4.0
Bandslam is a terrific family film that showcases the importance of constructive teenage friendship.
Jo Reviews
3.0
What keeps Bandslam afloat is the way its sweet moments find weird ways of stepping into convention.
The Coast
3.0
Surprisingly, its Vanessa Hudgens who brings the film to life, creating an original and believable brooding teen.
Ladue News
3.5
The film is too scruffy and too respectful of the messy musical roots of punk and glam rock to fall neatly into Disney territory.
Knight At The Movies
3.0
Like a 12 year old playing their first guitar, it lacks polish and goes on too long, but you cant knock the enthusiasm. Great musical finale, too.
Daily Mirror (UK)
3.0
The suprise packet of the film is Vanessa hudgens, cast against type as the Goth ish girlfriend.
Courier Mail (Australia)
3.0
Thanks to co writer/director Todd Graff, who made the quite terrific Camp a few years back, Bandslam avoids being as clichd as it sounds, and actually ..
Empire Online
4.0
Laugh out loud funny, with less sugar and more teen spirit than the likes of High School Musical.
3.0
If you like a large metal buckle with Western motifs, you are wearing it with Western style outfit instead of choosing an urban style that tends to be ..
Hopestar Journal
See Where to Watch
Bandslam