| Original Score: B+ | Feb 18, 2012

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 17, 2011

Bandslam is a mix of the icky, the corny and the comic, but there's no denying that it's fun.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 17, 2009

The characterisations are just a little unorthodox and the whole thing, despite a soggy middle during which nothing much happens, goes with an above average swing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 17, 2009

Tidy, heartfelt direction by Todd Graff (Camp); astute song references; and a David Bowie cameo transcend the formula underpinnings and keep Bandslam buoyant, gratifying and, yes, rocking.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2009

The movie has a few good tunes and some charming comic dash, at least at first.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 14, 2009

Bandslam consistently exceeds current teen-flick standards thanks to its snarky humour, its strong musical sequences and its ability to convey the excitement the characters feel both about performing and forming new friendships.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 14, 2009

An utterly charming work of pure pop exuberance, Bandslam is full of unexpected pleasures set to a surprisingly retro soundtrack.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 14, 2009

Simultaneously shiny and retro, calibrated and uncalculated, familiar and unpredictable.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 14, 2009

The bonus in this modest charmer? Not a single major female character, including Will's single mother played by Lisa Kudrow, is subjected to the usual Hollywood rom-com demonization.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 14, 2009

In a goofily endearing performance reminiscent of the young John Cusack, Connell is charming and relatable. Likewise, Kudrow, as the overprotective mother who both fears and wants more independence for her son.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 14, 2009

Director Todd Graff does have a keen understanding of kids in the world of performing arts, as he shows here and in his earlier and better film Camp.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 14, 2009

It feels like a missed opportunity, but perhaps is a blessing since Bandslam's dialogue is much more pat than Hughes's quotable writing.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 14, 2009

Rife with spirit-lifting scenes of teens singing their hearts out. And it feels just that good, in a quirky-smart way.

| Aug 14, 2009

It's all pretty predictable yet despite the occasional lapses into cuteness, it has a lot more going for it than the standard teen movie.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 14, 2009

A tedious, predictable tale about following your dreams and being yourself.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Aug 14, 2009

'Bandslam' is far from exceptional, but is saved by decent character development, a cluster of engaging performances and several amusing deadpan moments.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2009

A bizarre tween movie vehicle for the High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens that gradually morphs into a two-hour homily on the perils of adolescence.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 14, 2009

The movie's problem is the division of loyalties between these two female leads, which fatally divides and muddles the dramatic focus.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 14, 2009

Todd Graff's coming-of-age musical comedy may hardly be original, but the secret is all in the mix: sweet enough to please the kids, while acerbically downbeat enough to keep the attention of any accompanying adults.

Full Review | Aug 14, 2009