Drumline (2002)
I’ve always thought of marching bandmembers as just a bunch of geeks who walk about, stroking their instruments while swapping stories from band camp. I feared Drumline would be two hours of these musician wannabes screeching out simple notes on their secondhand instruments. To my surprise, Drumline is not just another recital from band camp however, it’s no symphony either.
The film centers around Devon (Nick Cannon), a freshman recruited to attend Atlanta A&T University on a full ride scholarship to play in the school’s marching band. He’s an overachiever with a chip on his shoulder who thinks he knows everything about playing the drums. At tryouts, which look more like boot camp, Devon disrespects his band director Dr. Aaron Lee (Orlando Jones) by refusing to participate with the rest of the group. A power struggle soon ensues between Devon and his drumline section leader Sean (Leonard Roberts) who feels the freshman’s talent threatens his position at the top of the food chain.
If that wasn’t enough melodrama, Devon is eventually removed from the team for causing a fight during homecoming, which leads to problems with his dance-squad leader girlfriend Laila (Zoe Saldana). The university president is upset about Devon’s removal and he pressures Dr. Lee to reinstate Devon because the school’s alumni will revoke their financial support of the squad if they don’t. Eventually, everyone works through their issues just in time for a marching band competition between A&T and its archrival, Morris Brown University.
First-time writer Tina Chism throws at us every standard formula possible from the Screenwriting for Dummies. Drumline spends three-quarters of its running time dealing with Devon’s attitude problem and the politics of the bandmember hierarchy. Do we really care? As a result, Drumline devotes very little time showcasing the music and style of the marching band. It isn’t until the last 20 minutes where we are finally treated to several full performances where their precision and artistry are allowed to shine. I was impressed, but by that time, the completely predictable plotline had drained any ounce of excitement left in the movie.
Drumline tries to be funny, but it fails. It also fails to be inspiring by preaching stale, overused expressions like, “You must learn to follow before you can lead.” Bottom line, there is nothing inspirational about Drumline and the only interesting parts occur in the film’s final stanza. At minimum, Drumline succeeds in dispelling some myths about marching bands, but it never really gives us any reason to care.
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