Ritmo total

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.

Sure, the script could have been better -- in fact, it was downright predictable -- but in this age of godawful black-oriented shows on WB and UPN, how refreshing to see a positive portrayal of black culture that did not feature one single bug-eyed stereotype. And Orlando Jones (a guy who knows how to bug his eyes) can act! Who knew? And man, those band performances were hot! I really enjoyed it. Not a classic, but still a needed movie at a time when the bar is set way too low.

So what if the plot is lifted from OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN? Even as a Brit who has no experience of the culture of college marching bands, this is one entertaining film.

Besides, there's something a bit more important going on here. At the core of this film is the path that Devon (Nick Cannon) takes from the point of having no concern for anyone but himself through to understanding the concept of teamwork and respect for those who are trying to help him be a better musician and, ultimately, person. Not a new message, but one I think we need more than ever in 2006.

How can you dislike a film like that?

Drumline is a great movie -- but you have to see it for what it is ... not what your preconceived notions lead you to believe it might be.

This movie is all about exposing people to the world of Black College marching bands. You couldn't have a movie that was 2 hours of nothing but band performances so you HAD to wrap a formulaic story around it. "Boy meets girl/boy loses girl/boy gets girl back and learns the value of teamwork in time for the big showdown" is a formula that has worked for years -- and it works here!

Another poster remarked that the band camp scenes were unrealistic because they were too "militaristic" ... he didn't believe that (among other things) that the students would be made to run around holding their drums and so forth. Well, believe it!

I marched in one of these bands (Southern University in Louisiana) 20 years ago and back then, band camp was FAR MORE INTENSE than anything you see on the screen in this movie. YES, it is that competitive. YES, it is that grueling. YES, it is that disciplined. Black College marching band is serious business and this film gives you only a small sample of what it takes to "make the band."

The actual band performances are AWESOME and will definitely be an eye-opener to anyone who has never seen this type of thing before. More importantly, there is no sex, violence, drug use, and very little bad language (just the requisite "d*mns" and "h@lls" - nothing any more intense than prime-time television.) Equally important, the movie features strong male figures who resolve differences without resorting to pathological violence.

One last point -- the movie grossed 13+ million dollars in its opening weekend. And this was against Star Trek (18.7 M) and the Jennifer Lopez (19 M) movie. Although it finished in third place, it was shown in about 1,000 fewer theaters than those two. It had (by far) the highest "revenue per theater" for the weekend!

Do yourself a favor -- open your mind and see this movie -- you and your family will enjoy it!

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.