A good soundtrack can't save Bandslam

Will (Gaelan Connell) is the kind of music geek who writes daily letters about his life to David Bowie. He knows the complete Velvet Underground catalogue and has “Wichita Lineman” on his iPod. Ridiculed at school because his dad was a notorious drunk, he gets a second chance when his mom (Lisa Kudrow) decides to move from Cincinnati to Lodi, New Jersey. And somehow, the change of locale finds this nerd caught in the crossfire of two hotties — Charlotte (Alyson Michalka) and Sa5m (Vanessa Hudgens). Sa5m wants to be his friend and pairs up with him in “Human Studies” class. Charlotte enlists him to manage her band, which is preparing to compete in the annual “bandslam” competition. Complications ensue. Balancing the two relationships proves to be difficult, and it’s not long before the whole thing implodes. While you’d be hard-pressed to find a better soundtrack (Bandslam dips into the back catalogues of Nick Drake and David Bowie), the good use of music is all for naught as the melodrama is so forced, it makes tween flicks like High School Musicaland Hannah Montana seem realistic by comparison. **