My wife and I went to the early evening show on the opening day of Bandslam in New York City. I was expecting to be overrun with teenagers. Instead, the audience was filled with nothing but Generation-X couples! As my wife pointed out, this is because no one knows how to make a “date film” anymore. Bandslam is quite frankly the best option out there this year.

Bandslam is the best film I’ve seen all year. This may sound a bit strange, given that it is a “corny, teenybopper movie” with Disney stars in the lead roles. But my point is that it is a really good corny movie, and in our society filled with emotionally cold movies, emotionally cold books, and emotionless robotic music, corny movies are one of the last bastions of artistic emotional expression we have.

Bandslam has its flaws, certainly. The leads are all slightly problematic in their own way, and no one would call this film “deep.” But the screenplay is smart and well-written, with lots of good dialog (very unusual these days.) It has tons of kick-ass modern pop music, played in exciting, well-filmed performances. It has an entertaining variety of themes running through it – kids coming together to form bands, love blossoming from friendship, alienated nerds coming into their own, arrogant pretty girls growing a heart, an interesting mother-son relationship, people reacting to difficult circumstances or dealing with unfortunate pasts, and last but not least the pure, spontaneous joy of music. These themes are not developed down to the emotional core of our being – the film is quite light – but they are developed, which is more than most movies can say.

Most importantly, the film is just plain fun, start to finish, and has a positive uplifting spirit which just sweeps away any minor issues about casting, performances, or the thematic depth of the film. The positive spirit and good energy of this film defy the critics, and that is why they were so mute and gutless in their reviews.

The music written for the various bands to play is terrific. Usually in films like this the music is downright lame. No, it’s not Fame-great, but what music performance film in the last 30 years has come anywhere near the music written for that 1980s classic? Besides, Bandslam is not aiming for quite the same effect. This film is about the raw excitement of loud, raucous pop music played live, and they really capture that in all the performances. They capture the joy of making music, and the joy of being thrilled by music, and they do it quite well. Plus, there’s a lot of pop music history and philosophizing woven into the film, giving its dialog a very pleasing texture. Lastly, the film also has a really good soundtrack, and uses it well.

The leads are all really solid, and as I mentioned before any small problems with their performances don’t really effect the enjoyment of the film. By the way, I thought Lisa Kudrow was really good in her supporting role as Will’s mother, and in my opinion she transcends her famous tics pretty well to create a warm and real character.

This movie is not shy about playing on Generation-X nostalga. The scene at the piano is straight out of Fame (and Gaelan Connell even looks like Bruno.) The band’s opening song is Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me.” The Velvet Underground is considered “essential listening.” Will waxes poetic about the Ramones, Patti Smith and The Clash. Everyone in the band is instantly familiar with the “harmonized guitars of Thin Lizzy.” Charlotte drives a 1970’s convertible sedan. Will has “Wichita Lineman” on his Ipod. The band’s drummer is 1980s Matt Dillon, time-warped in. David Bowie is featured prominently, as is CBGB’s. And only in the 1980s does $10,000 represent a significant record deal! Like the other great teenybopper movies of the last fifteen years – films like Ten Things I Hate About You, Bring It On, and Clueless – Bandslam is really written for Generation-X.

At the end of the film, the audience clapped and cheered enthusistically; no one clapped or cheered at the end of Cold Souls, I’ll tell you that! Movies are about having fun, and even if Bandslam does not totally stand the test of time, and winds up just being the best of a weak year of films, it is still lots of fun! I highly recommend it!