Bandslam
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The Story
Will Burton (Gaelan Connell), a new kid in his New Jersey high school, is not used to being popular. So he’s confused when two cute girls take an interest in him. One is a quiet outsider who calls herself Sa5m (Vanessa Hudgens and “the 5 is silent”). The other is Charlotte (Alyson Michalka of “Aly & AJ”), a beautiful and popular senior who connects with Will over a shared passion for punk and alternative music. She practically forces Will to become the manager of her fledgling band.
Will turns out to be a band-managing genius, pulling together diverse kids from every corner of the school to form a group for a regional battle of the bands that awards a record contract to the winners.
As the band’s sound improves, though, all the relationships get tested. Will’s protective mom (Lisa Kudrow) doesn’t trust Charlotte. Sa5m, who Will likes as way more than a friend, is pretty sure he’s really in love with Charlotte and not her, and Charlotte’s ex-boyfriend (Scott Porter from “Friday Night Lights”) goes looking for secret dirt on Will to break up the non-couple. But the band must rock on.
Content Issues
This PG film is way tame compared to most teen flicks. A few kisses are exchanged. God’s name is used for swearing a few times.
Worldview Talking Points
Yes, the above synopsis could describe any cookie-cutter Disney Channelish teen musical soap opera, but writer/director Todd Graff turns those ingredients into a refreshingly well-told story with great characters, strong performances, and good music. In other words, don’t judge this film by its parts.
“Bandslam” is one of the best-reviewed teen films in a long time (currently at 81% on RottenTomatoes.com), but it got killed at the box office its opening weekend. Thanks to DVDs, downloads, and word of mouth, though, many teens in the demographic will eventually get around to seeing this one. And I don’t think they’ll be disappointed. I was surprised how much I liked it.
In addition to packing in very little objectionable content, one nice thing about the movie is that these teens feel authentic while being smart, talented, and motivated by real-life backstories and interests. Graff just refuses to turn them into stock stereotypes of “good teens,” “bad teens,” and “comic relief.”
The story also includes a couple of interesting worldview ideas to chew on. We hope a few of the questions below might help to generate some productive conversation with your student about those ideas.
- Did seeing this movie make you want to play in a band? If you could, what instrument would you want to play? What kind of music would you like to make?
- Did anything about this movie surprise you? Were you expecting a different kind of film from these Disney Channel stars?
- Which character did you identify with most? Why?
- In the film, Will’s mom is protective of him and especially of his relationship with Charlotte. Will resists her but he also seems to like having her there when things get rough. How involved do you think your parents should be in protecting you somehow from difficult relationships? [Parent: Be sure to explain your perspective and why you choose to be involved to the extent that you are in your child’s relationships.]
- Charlotte and Will become really good friends, so much so that everyone seems pretty sure they’re a couple. Do you think it’s realistic for a guy and girl to be best friends without having a romantic relationship? Why is that so hard? What might make it really great if it works?
- Why do think Sa5m put a “silent 5” in her name? Why do you think she was so quiet and distant? Do you think she was right to be so mad a Will? Do you think she was right to forgive him?
- Charlotte describes an experiment in which she makes a bargain with “God, the universe, or whoever is listening” to help her dad get better in exchange for her becoming a better person. Do you know anyone who has ever made a bargain with God like that?
- Making those kinds of bargains is pretty normal, especially when illness and death is involved. But why is it a bad way to figure out if God exists or if He cares about us? Why doesn’t God seem to respond to that kind of bargaining?
- How can someone figure out if God exists? What evidence does the Bible give that God loves us and is powerful and is good? [Parent: Encourage your child to see that in Romans 5, we’re told that God demonstrated His powerful love and goodness by sacrificing His much-loved Son to pay for our sin so we could be with Him forever.]
- What did you think of the way that teenagers are presented in “Bandslam”? Did they seem more or less authentic to you than the way students are usually shown in movies? Does it matter to you how kids are pictured in movies? Why or why not?
