Bandslam

Bandslam (2009) is a music-driven teen drama from director Todd Graff, ready to watch online on iFILM. Will Burton lives and breathes rock history and writes long unsent emails to his idol. Then he lands at a new high school where the bands run everything.

Will knows everything about sound and almost nothing about making friends. That shifts when Charlotte (Aly Michalka) recruits him to build a band from misfits and chase a signature style ahead of Bandslam, the state's big battle of the bands. In the mix is Sa5m (Vanessa Hudgens), blunt and deadpan, with her own take on music and on Will himself.

The film bets on rehearsal-room honesty over flashy numbers, and on real teenage awkwardness rather than easy wins. Lisa Kudrow plays Will's mom, and there's a sharp rock-world cameo that pays off if you know your bands. It clicks for anyone who grew up on School of Rock and stories about guitar-toting outsiders. Stream Bandslam (2009) online on iFILM.