Not another high school musical

I knew "Bandslam" was going to be a good movie from the opening sequences. The main character, Will Burton (Gaelan Connell), has a room full of indie rock band posters, including one for the U2 Unforgettable Fire Tour - which happens to be my very favorite U2 album. That was enough to make me like Will from the start.

"Bandslam" is a movie that kind of came out under the radar. It has been out in theaters for weeks and opened in Gilroy this week for three showings a day. Gaelan Connell is a new comer to the screen, but he encapsulates the awkward, yet passionate Will Burton perfectly.

Will Burton is a dorky high school 16-year-old who doesn't fit in at his Cleaveland high school. When things are at their worst, he writes e-mails to David Bowie, though the pen pal relationship is one sided.

The movie, directed and written by Todd Graff (and co-written by Josh Cagan), is definitely not a teen movie in the line of "High School Musical." The cast does, however, include two actresses who got their start in Disney movies or TV shows - Vanessa Hudgens and Alyson Michalka - and plenty of singing.

Will's life changes when his mom Karen (played by Lisa Kudrow) takes a job in New Jersey. There Will has a chance to start his life with a clean slate and somehow he catches the eye of blond senior, Charlotte (Michalka). Soon Will's obsession with indie music, dating back to Bowie and the Clash to the present bands that are taking the world by storm, is an asset. Charlotte and two of her friends are in a band and they want Will's help. The trio of misfits wants to take on the golden boys of the school at a statewide battle of the bands.

The thing that makes the movie better than, say a "High School Musical," is that these teens have problems that are a little more real. It's not just about a football jock and A student who really want to be in the school play. The motivation of the characters is revealed slowly throughout, like why Will was bullied at his old school and why Charlotte would befriend someone like Will in the first place.

"Bandslam" has plenty of funny and heartfelt moments - it's a bit like Fox's new show "Glee," but with a little less edge and a little more sweetness. The movie is definitely worth a watch, and the soundtrack is pretty good, too.