Bandslam (2009)

What a pleasant surprise!

This is a both clever and poignant story of a boy trying to change his life and having the good luck to fall into the job of managing a high school band. Of course there's a love interest and complications but, for a high school movie, it rang really true and some of the scenes actually got me to tear up.

That said, I still can't stand Vanessa Hudgens. Though she starts out as an affected loner, she eventually morphs into the Hudge we know too well: cutesy-wutesy musical goddess. Ugh.

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