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Drumline

  • 20022002
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
35K
YOUR RATING
Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana in Drumline (2002)
Trailer
Play trailer0:34
1 Video
38 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
A band director recruits a Harlem street drummer to play at a Southern university.A band director recruits a Harlem street drummer to play at a Southern university.A band director recruits a Harlem street drummer to play at a Southern university.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
35K
YOUR RATING
    • Charles Stone III
    • Shawn Schepps(story)
    • Tina Gordon(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Nick Cannon
    • Zoe Saldana
    • Orlando Jones
    • Charles Stone III
    • Shawn Schepps(story)
    • Tina Gordon(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Nick Cannon
    • Zoe Saldana
    • Orlando Jones
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 214User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
    • 63Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Drumline
    Trailer 0:34
    Watch Drumline

    Photos38

    Zoe Saldana in Drumline (2002)
    Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana in Drumline (2002)
    Nick Cannon in Drumline (2002)
    Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana in Drumline (2002)
    Nick Cannon (left) and GQ (right)
    Orlando Jones (left) and Nick Cannon (right)
    Leonard Roberts (left) and Nick Cannon (right)
    Nick Cannon and Leonard Roberts in Drumline (2002)
    Drumline (2002)
    Drumline (2002)
    Zoe Saldana in Drumline (2002)
    (l to r) Nick Cannon, Orlando Jones, and Leonard Roberts

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nick Cannon
    Nick Cannon
    • Devon Miles
    Zoe Saldana
    Zoe Saldana
    • Laila
    • (as Zoë Saldana)
    Orlando Jones
    Orlando Jones
    • Dr. Lee
    Leonard Roberts
    Leonard Roberts
    • Sean Taylor
    GQ
    GQ
    • Jayson
    Jason Weaver
    Jason Weaver
    • Ernest
    Earl Poitier
    Earl Poitier
    • Charles
    • (as Earl C. Poitier)
    Candace Carey
    Candace Carey
    • Diedre
    Shay Roundtree
    Shay Roundtree
    • Big Rob
    Miguel A. Gaetan
    Miguel A. Gaetan
    • Trey
    J. Anthony Brown
    J. Anthony Brown
    • Mr. Wade
    Afemo Omilami
    Afemo Omilami
    • President Wagner
    Angela Elayne Gibbs
    Angela Elayne Gibbs
    • Dorothy Miles
    • (as Angela E. Gibbs)
    Tyreese Burnett
    Tyreese Burnett
    • Henry
    Brandon Hirsch
    Brandon Hirsch
    • Buck Wild
    Omar J. Dorsey
    Omar J. Dorsey
    • James
    • (as O'Mar J. Dorsey)
    Al Wiggins
    • Principal
    Nicholas B. Thomas
    • Pooh Bear
      • Charles Stone III
      • Shawn Schepps(story) (screenplay)
      • Tina Gordon(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Nick Cannon did his own drumming on screen while his double, Jason Price, did majority of the close-ups with complex techniques.
    • Goofs
      The sheet music printed off is not percussion music.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Lee: What was that? Why do we rehearse? Why... do we rehearse? You're out there showboating for five minutes. If I wasn't able to signal a drum major to back you up, you'd still be out there beating your damn drum!

      Sean: Dr. Lee, sir, maybe there's an explanation. Devon...

      Dr. Lee: Do I look like I need you to explain anything right now?

      Sean: No, sir.

      Dr. Lee: I don't know what the beef is, but you better grill it up and eat it. Because it is my a** that is on the line.

      President Wagner: Now that is a new beginning. That's exactly what I'm talking about.

      [shakes Devon's hand]

      President Wagner: Great job, son. You are something. You are something special.

      Devon: Thank you, sir.

      President Wagner: Great job, all of you. Now let's see Morris Brown top that!

      [band cheers]

      President Wagner: Some alumni wanna speak with you. There they are. Don't keep them waiting. New beginning! NEW BEGINNING!

      Dr. Lee: Sean, I want you to polish the drums tonight. And I'd better be able to see myself in the surface.

      Sean: Yes sir.

      Devon: I left the polisher on the bottom shelf.

    • Crazy credits
      As the MBU band plays one more time over the credits, the names for each principal actor appear on the screen (and exit) in patterns resembling marching formations, such as spinning into frame and then out again like a drumline.
    • Connections
      Featured in 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
      Written by Edward Elgar

    User reviews214

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Great movie
    Former drumline member here. Well damn, I guess I'll be the first drummer to say I liked the movie a lot. I swear, half of these reviews I'm reading are annoying - people bashing it because it's an all black movie, people bashing it because the band has dancers instead of a color guard, people calling the drumming rudimentary because they played in a drumline that did better blah blah blah.

    What do you guys want, a documentary on marching band? If I was to make a Hollywood movie about the drumline I would have done the same exact things with the drum sequences - put in a gang of stick tricks and showmanship that would translate well to the screen. Nobody wants to watch flam taps for 90 minutes.

    That being said, the last drum battle is one of my favorite things to watch. I love when the bass drum cadence comes in, the basses march in a circle, the quads toss each other their sticks between bars, and the snares have an orgy of backsticking and other stick tricks on a level you rarely see performed in real life. And the movie is only cliche as far as its kid w/ bad attitude needs to put his pride away plot goes. I don't watch Nickelodeon so I haven't seen one of those types of movies since I was... hmmm since I was 5. Far as what isn't cliche about it, there's a lot to like. One of the best things is that it immerses itself in Afro-American culture w/out any cliches at all - just life as it is down south at an all-black university. No guns, drugs, none of that stuff that you'd expect from a character who walks and talks like Nick Cannon's character does. I also liked the way they handled the white character in the band. The dialogue where they ask him why he went to the all-black college. His first reply is a wink at the audience, which would expect Hollywood to trivialize race relations like that. Then he goes, nah for real though, and gives a sincere answer that makes sense.
    helpful•93
    14
    • Kazou_Kuriyama
    • Apr 21, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 13, 2002 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Clark Atlanta University - 223 James P. Brawley Drive SW, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    • Production companies
      • Fox 2000 Pictures
      • Wendy Finerman Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 58 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • Dolby

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