Intermission: 'Drumline' perks up down time between blockbusters

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Jim Wunderle is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.|ret||ret||tab|

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The time between the release of the Thanksgiving blockbusters and the Christmas blockbusters is always a bleak one for the movie-going public. This week seemed to be worse than usual.|ret||ret||tab|

The new "Star Trek"? Sorry, I've boldly gone there way too many times. "The Hot Chick"? A film starring a minor "Saturday Night Live" alumnus? Uh, no. |ret||ret||tab|

"Maid in Manhattan"? I'm waiting for the season's most promising romantic comedy, "Two Weeks' Notice" with Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. So, what's left?|ret||ret||tab|

"Drumline." |ret||ret||tab|

"Drumline"? Do I really want to sit through two hours of film about marching band music, a genre I've always considered to be the most soulless of beasts?|ret||ret||tab|

As it turns out, yes. "Drumline," while not breaking a whole lot of new ground in the plot department, is a fun ride and throws a whole new light on marching band music. |ret||ret||tab|

The way it's played in the South, where they seem to take it very seriously, is a long way from John Phillip Sousa. |ret||ret||tab|

These bands combine elements both musical and physical of soul, funk, New Orleans jazz, gospel, even hip-hop. What comes out is a joyful noise.|ret||ret||tab|

Director Charles Stone III immerses his camera directly in the action, both on the field and off, and some scenes will make you feel as if you're watching a documentary. |ret||ret||tab|

Nick Cannon, in the lead role of Devon Miles, is an exuberant screen presence who at times reminds me of a young, PG-rated Richard Pryor. |ret||ret||tab|

Devon is a hotshot high school band drummer from Harlem who is personally recruited by Dr. Aaron Lee (Orlando Jones) to attend Atlanta A&T on a band scholarship. |ret||ret||tab|

Devon has always been the best drummer in school and also somewhat of a hotshot cutup. When he gets to college (as our teachers in high school always told us would happen) he finds things are a little different.|ret||ret||tab|

Before he heads off to Atlanta, the film takes its most poignant side step with an emotional meeting between Devon and his estranged father. It's a great scene and serves to further the plot later on.|ret||ret||tab|

When Devon arrives at Atlanta A&T, he finds the routine more like boot camp than band practice. Lee insists that the foremost task at hand is for the students to learn; the college president is more interested in the band beating arch rival Morris Brown College at the annual Black Entertainment Television-sponsored battle of the bands. |ret||ret||tab|

Devon also develops an adversarial relationship with the leader of the snare-drum line, an upperclassman named Sean who, until now, has been the hottest drummer on the squad. |ret||ret||tab|

While Devon may now be the best drummer, it's still Sean who takes the discipline seriously and adheres strictly to the band rulebook's first axiom: "One band, one sound."|ret||ret||tab|

Devon showboats at his first on-field performance provoking Lee to anger and the college president to absolute glee. Finally, he thinks, the A&T band is getting flashy like the one at Morris Brown.|ret||ret||tab|

Devon's antics, along with another secret that Sean is not hesitant to expose, gets the hotshot booted off the team. |ret||ret||tab|

He also loses his girl, the beautiful Layla who heads the band's dance squad.|ret||ret||tab|

All of this may seem rather clich, and it might have been, but "Drumline" is one of those films whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.|ret||ret||tab|

As the big battle of the marching bands nears, Lee is feeling pressure from the president and his lot, who are more concerned with raking in donations from alumni than discipline, musicianship or learning. The president wants Devon back on the line, but Lee stands firm: Break the rules, you're off the squad, no matter how good you are.|ret||ret||tab|

To his credit, Devon learns a lot from the experience, and in the third act the great compromise is reached where Sean, Devon, Lee, even the white kid who sorely lacks rhythm, come together in the spirit of "One band, one sound."|ret||ret||tab|

The finale is a spectacular. Stone filled the Georgia Dome with people, not a "digital crowd," and the bands on the field are actual college marching bands, augmented of course by the characters in the film. It's fun, the moves are fluid, and the music is funky. |ret||ret||tab|

It reminded me of nothing so much as a Disney version of the finale from the recent "8 Mile."|ret||ret||tab|

While not in danger of capturing any major awards, "Drumline" could become a sleeper hit. |ret||ret||tab|

The camera work, the affable acting of Cannon and the surprisingly grooving music combine for an overall enjoyable couple of hours at the movies.|ret||ret||tab|

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