Drumline

I'm not one of those people who moans and groans that "movies today are so full of trashy language" (or sex or violence or whatever), and that there's not enough "wholesome" (that word gives me a pain) entertainment for the family. For all those who do (and even those who don't), here's an energetic film that manages to entertain while eschewing content that could conceivably offend anyone (unless they find even the tiniest amount of innocuous, lightweight hip-hop too much to take).

The thematic ground here - young hotshot learns to sacrifice for the good of the team; underdogs strive for triumph - has been covered countless times before, so DRUMLINE wisely boils the plot down to its barest elements, for the most part sidestepping the obligatory contrived obstacles and setbacks, and plays to its strength: the music.

This is a story about college marching bands, focusing in particular on the members of the percussion section, and a good 50% - if not more - of the film concentrates on the lively and elaborate performances of the bands, which are complimented by equally lively cinematography and editing.

No, it's not deep and, yes, it's old fashioned. In, fact, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to see Mickey and Judy in the roles of Devon and Laila (though probably with different names!). I mean, these are the cleanest livin' kids you'll see in any recent picture! But it's solid and it all works. Oh, and don't be scared off by the idea of so much college marching band music. Not being a football fan, my exposure to such things is limited to the Rose Parade, and I don't have a clue as to what state-of-the-art is for halftime entertainment these days, but, for what it's worth, this is the best college marching band stuff I've ever seen, and I wasn't bored for a minute.

Former drumline member here. Well damn, I guess I'll be the first drummer to say I liked the movie a lot. I swear, half of these reviews I'm reading are annoying - people bashing it because it's an all black movie, people bashing it because the band has dancers instead of a color guard, people calling the drumming rudimentary because they played in a drumline that did better blah blah blah.

What do you guys want, a documentary on marching band? If I was to make a Hollywood movie about the drumline I would have done the same exact things with the drum sequences - put in a gang of stick tricks and showmanship that would translate well to the screen. Nobody wants to watch flam taps for 90 minutes.

That being said, the last drum battle is one of my favorite things to watch. I love when the bass drum cadence comes in, the basses march in a circle, the quads toss each other their sticks between bars, and the snares have an orgy of backsticking and other stick tricks on a level you rarely see performed in real life. And the movie is only cliche as far as its kid w/ bad attitude needs to put his pride away plot goes. I don't watch Nickelodeon so I haven't seen one of those types of movies since I was... hmmm since I was 5. Far as what isn't cliche about it, there's a lot to like. One of the best things is that it immerses itself in Afro-American culture w/out any cliches at all - just life as it is down south at an all-black university. No guns, drugs, none of that stuff that you'd expect from a character who walks and talks like Nick Cannon's character does. I also liked the way they handled the white character in the band. The dialogue where they ask him why he went to the all-black college. His first reply is a wink at the audience, which would expect Hollywood to trivialize race relations like that. Then he goes, nah for real though, and gives a sincere answer that makes sense.

I'm not a musician and know little about marching bands. However, this movie captivated my attention. The athleticism of these musical marchers was something I had never thought about until watching this excellent movie. The music is wonderful and the drumline competition puts the dueling banjos of yesterday to shame. The story line delivers a good message of how raw talent can be molded into disciplined success. The concept of teamwork and individual goals are blended into a believable and inspiring movie. I found the acting to be very good and will look for the cast in future movies. Nick Cannon and Orlando Jones never leave any doubt about the characters they are playing.

Drumline is a great movie for anybody to see. I especially like it because I am a "band nerd" but that's ok. I would like it anyway; it has it's funny parts, it's serious parts, and I am still wondering how they found so many awesome drummers, (and other musicians for that matter!)

Because of this movie, I now have some respect for Nick Cannon as an actor. I'm glad he finally starred in a great movie for all ages, and is no longer confined to piece of crap kids sketch comedy shows on Nickelodeon, [which, by the way, SUCKS as of late (i.e. My life as a teenage robot, slimetime, ginger)]

Overall, great movie, great job by Nick Cannon.

The picture results to be a dramedy concerning a rebel drummer young (Nick Cannon) who is admitted in Georgia Academy to take part at an important band. But his rebellious temper causes frictions with orchestra director (Orlando Jones) and the band members . Meanwhile , he falls in love with a cheerleader (Zoe Saldana).

In the film there's a varied procession of characters , the habitual group of misfit roles ,including the only white boy among different color young people , or the sole girl among all men . The story is narrated with great sense of ductility and intelligence and it has its good moments here and there .It's an enjoyable movie, but uneven comedy , it works better when the drummers go into the action. The motion picture has comedy , a love story , giggles , drama , and breathtaking musical spectacle with groundbreaking choreographic set-pieces. Before the spectacular final meeting on the stadium , they contend with each other , but finally learn the meaning of life , and , ultimately , come to respect each other . The film climax is the spellbound and gorgeous final duel on the furlong where both bands confront to achieve the winner prize . Zoe Saldana is attractive and enticing , ready as a future star in "guess who¨ , the newcomer Nick Cannon as the roguish and cocky young gives a first-rate interpretation . Orlando Jones as the tough director is excellent , his acting is likeness to the stiff-upper-lip sergeant Louis Gosset J.R. in ¨Officer and Gentleman ¨ . Big budget production features an impeccable musical score by John Powell. The movie was well directed by Charles Stone . Rating : Above average . Worthwhile seeing for its extraordinary musical choreography .