HEADLINES:
R/€ 
Oil 'Bandslam' a fresh backbeat
December 04, 2009 Edition 1
Michael Rechtshaffen
****
BANDSLAM. Directed by Todd Graff, with Alyson Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelen Connell and Lisa Kudrow.
Review: MICHAEL RECHTSHAFFEN
HAD Cameron Crowe and the late John Hughes collaborated on a movie populated by Disney Channel superstars, the result might have looked and sounded a lot like Todd Graff's Bandslam.
And that's meant as a compliment. An energetic, if overlong, music-driven comedy set against the backdrop of a high school battle of the bands competition, the film manages to come up with a fresh backbeat for the familiar alienated teen refrain, boosted by a talented cast and authentic soundtrack.
Although the presence of High School Musical sensation Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka (better known as the Aly half of pop music duo Aly & AJ) might be the main draw, there's plenty to keep post-teen audiences amused, though they might not know that from the marketing.
Relative newcomer Gaelan Connell, who comes across as a younger John Cusack or Tom Hanks, is ideally cast as Will, a socially awkward kid with knowledge of music whose overprotective mom (Lisa Kudrow) relocates them to New Jersey at the beginning of his junior year.
Actor-turned-director Graff, who made his behind-the-camera debut with 2003's Camp, instils Bandslam with a truthful, youthful sensibility, and the script he penned with Josh A Cagan really seems to know its stuff where its musical influences are concerned.- Reuters
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