Drumline

Like Bring It On, Drumline focuses on aspects of American football other than the game itself. Drumline follows superstar drummer Devon from Harlem to an Atlanta university, where he begins his scholarship with the school's marching band. Devon (Nick Cannon) is arrogant, flamboyant and trouble for his bandmaster, Dr. Lee (Orlando Jones), and his drumline leader, Sean (Leonard Roberts), yet you can't blame him for feeling like he's above training after witnessing his exceptional skills. A typical tale of a hot-headed kid with talent that gets a lesson in life and teamwork through a series of warnings, suspensions and advice from his girlfriend — quite similar to The Program in fact, though this time the action takes place at halftime. The plot isn't breaking new ground, although the film should be applauded for taking a refreshing approach to an all-African American cast, rather than the usual tiresome clichés. The real story lies between the lines of dialogue, with the phenomenal drumming sequences, which are nothing short of unbelievable. Drumline recognises that the plot comes second to these displays of musical mayhem and packs the film with numerous sequences of Devon and his crew letting loose on stadiums and each other. The DVD contains a few deleted scenes that aren't required viewing, except for a wisely axed portion of an all-white marching band that's embarrassing to watch. Complete with all-American girls waving flags and extremely basic instrumentation, this nugget would have stuck out like a massive sore thumb amongst the electrifying dirty south approach to halftime musicianship. Extras: BET making of special; director's commentary; deleted scenes and music videos. (Fox)