Review of Vanessa Hudgens' New Movie, BandSlam

Ms Twixt was invited to an advance screening of BandSlam, a new movie starring Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka (she of Disney's Aly & AJ fame). Storyline recap: an outcast boy (played by newcomer Gaelan Connell) moves from school to school and lands at Van Buren High School in New Jersey; he finds a kindred spirit in Vanessa Hudgens, a loner who shuns the main stream elements at school; Connell's character has music in his bones and through a series of events finds himself managing a high school band from Van Buren; the band enters into the local high school band competition, BandSlam; and there is a romantic sub-plot with Connell, Hudgens, and Michalka.
The movie is part School of Rock and part Glee; it lacks the saccharine of HSM and has slightly more edge than the standard Disney fare. This film is rated PG, but we could not find any objectionable content in the film. We think the PG rating comes from a mention of an adult character who has a DWI conviction, but Ms Twixt found the movie completely age-appropriate for 'tweens.
The music-loving tween in your life would likely like this film; the adult accompanying said tween will appreciate the musical references to David Bowie and other punk rock legends of the 70's. A good film to see together, but the big screen of a movie theatre isn't necessary to enjoy it.