Drumline (Widescreen)

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a movie not about football!!!
Review: We all have our favorite sports movies whether it's football (Remember the Titans, Varsity Blues), baseball (Angels in the Outfield, Major League), or cheerleading (Bring It On) but now we can finally add marching band to the list. I was in marching band all four years of high school (I played clarinet), and I had a blast despite the reputation us band geeks put on ourselves. Even though this movie primarily focused on the percussion section, watching it I can still (in a way) feel the rush I felt when i was performing on the football field. If I had to pick one thing in this movie I didn't like, it would be the ending performance by the rival band from Morris Brown College. Those who have seen the movie will know exactly what I'm talking about. No marching band in their right mind would ever do that in a million years.

Rating:
Summary: Music With An Attitude...
Review: One important word omitted from the paper's descriptive summary didn't prepare me nor the majority of the moviegoers for the rap interspersed throughout. The vicious way the band members were abused so the alumni would support the school -- and winning top slot in a competition was more than a goal.

I had no idea that a marching band depended on its very life on the drum section. Nor that an entire university's reputation be made by one talented individual! The music was good with the exception of the rap junk -- for a diverse audience.

It was a film exclusively for a certain group of our population, but the promotions didn't spell out the specifics. It seems that too many schools today allow sports to monopolize at the expense of science, humanities, or business departments (all subjects necessary for adult life after high school, even college); this one apparently consisted only of a rather large band population. No academics whatsoever. Surely this was not based on a true story.