A different way of telling a story

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I can stand to watch most of this movie when I feel like it but there are some things that could have been and should have been left out. I too found it rather silly that this kid got a full scholarship even though he couldn't read music. Wouldn't that have been something Dr. Lee would have asked when he recruited Devon? Afterall, it was part of the official rules to be in the band. The way Devon ignored rules, his attitude toward Lee and his drumline leader, and the fact that he caused a fight with a rival school, any other person would have been kicked off the band without given a second thought. Also, the P.A. announcer at the stadium was very annoying. Could have done without those pointless arrogant lines. Lastly, the movie ended badly. Sure, Atlanta A&T won the Classic but it ended during the celebration. They needed a better moment to end it on. Like maybe show Devon a year or 2 later leading a group of drumline hopefuls.

The urban culture depicted in Drumline is without a doubt the softened, fictionalized version built for a PG-13 film. Yet it doesn't need to be vulgar. It's a sweet, innocuous parable about a school's marching band, erecting a pleasantly unfamiliar atmosphere known to few American audiences, and too, showcasing actors of charm and set-pieces that almost touch the status of sublime.I've had a countless number of debates that centered around school and extra-curricular activities and my general disinterest in many of them. I could always admire the time, effort, and devotion many put into their favorite activities, whatever they may be, but my place is more behind a computer rather than out on a field or a track. I've continuously mentioned, however, how school bands, both at high school and college level, go mostly unrecognized due to the "bigger" entertainment that awaits after they finish. There's an enormous amount of practice, perfection, and devotion that go into making a band a success, and Drumline makes no attempt at shortchanging that.The film centers on the likable, yet troubled Devon Miles (Nick Cannon), who has just graduated from high school and looks to pursue an invaluable four years at Atlanta A&T University. He wants to continue formulating his musicianship and excellence in the field of percussion, and has aspirations to make the awe-inspiring drumline the school has to offer. Yet because of his smarmy, often surly attitude, his position on the band is rather in limbo with Dr. Lee (Orlando Jones), who is annoyed by his ability to change not only moods but notes at random. Then there's the romance we love to watch unfold. This time, it's with Zoe Saldana, who plays Laila, who is often off-put by Devon's attitude, yet knows there is a good person wrestling with the worse one.This sort of inner-character-conflict can grow tedious at times, with Devon adopting a rather up-and-down personality to almost everything and often challenging those who do not look to challenge him. But Drumline doesn't capitalize off of this so much as it does several things that boost its story above the level of simple Saturday morning fare. For one, it is occupied with riveting, highly-detailed set-pieces that exfoliate the theatricalities beautifully, also allowing the set design and painstaking choreography to assume the forefront.Secondly, it pleasantly subtracts needless elements of the story that could've further stretched out the already lengthy film to a level channeling tedium. For example, the film is in a grand-ole position to have Devon kicked off the school band because of the potential possibility that he is not doing well in his classes (we only see him on the field practicing or performing and rarely with his head in a book or body in a desk). Thankfully, there's no contrivance that Devon is very skilled when behind a drum, but in a desk he's inept and anemic, and there's the reason he can not be on the band. When he is punished, he is for his own belligerence and disobedience to policy and disrespect of intimidating authority. He's a flawed character. Not a stupid one.And finally, writers Tina Gordon Chism and Shawn Schepps prevent the entire project from veering off into mawkish sentimentality, despite, yet again, being in a great position to do so. Throughout the film, there are hints that Devon's absent father only affected him in a small way, seeing as he was still kept fulfilled, nourished, and motivated by his peers and, most importantly, his mother. What Drumline doesn't need is a sob-story about a youth who is troubled because of the lack of a father figure he somehow managed to get by with for several years up until college begins. Again, Devon is a victim of his own actions. Not the fact that he lacks a father figure.Then there's the obligations I have as an aspiring film critic, or an amateur one, whatever may have you. That is to recognize that the film does rely on formula and familiarity to get by for a good portion of its runtime. But the reason we watch a story like this unfold and stick around for the two hour runtime is because we enjoy the setup, reside with the characters, sympathize, or even possibly empathize, with what they're going through. The film is an achievement worth cherishing, and if it may be labeled as contrived filmmaking, it should at least be worthy enough to take notes from. Insert drum pun here to conclude review.Starring: Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, and Orlando Jones. Directed by: Charles Stone III.

Nick Cannon(or Mariah Carey's husband) is Devon Miles, a talented drummer who graduates from high school in New York City, and is accepted into a mostly black college to play in a marching band. The leader tells him that he must learn to read music and to be a member of the team. He is arrogant and a show off, which causes friction with the rest of the band, and eventually, after a fight with a rival school's drummer, he is thrown out. Another school offers him a full scholarship to join their band and compete in a contest with his present school. The complication is a girlfriend, Laila(Zoe Saldana), who is a dancer and a classmate. After the usual confrontations, Devon rejoins the marching band, and leads them against the other college in a drum off, which is really well done and makes Drumline an exceptionally entertaining movie a 7.5/10.

A talented street drummer from Harlem who enrolls in a Southern university, expecting to lead its marching band's drumline to victory. He initially flounders in his new world, before realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top.After I've just seen the first 10 minutes of the film, I already knew it would be a fantastic film. I don't know why there is so much hate in this film on IMDb, with a low rating like 5.2/10?! Maybe people can't handle the fact it's just a really good film.I like the marching band world. I'm in it at school and I love the fact it holds true to that. The bands in the film were creative with their skills, fun, and entertaining to watch! I don't even know if you could watching this film standing up without jumping with the beat because it will make your feet tap.The acting by Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, Orlando Jones, and Leonard Roberts were all good. This film, like Akeelah and the Bee, Last Holiday, and Barber Shop, is what makes films with a majority African American so good. The drum sequences in this film are amazing.If you hate this film just because it's "black", you are what makes the world bad these days. This is afar from being a bad film. It's a wonderful, very entertaining, and has its funny moments.