Ari Gold, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch

When hard times hit a small mining town, Power (writer-director Ari Gold) doesn’t wish for riches; he only wishes that he’d learned to play drums. But his father (Michael McKean) could never afford t...( read more  read more... )o buy him a drum set, so Power has embraced the next best thing: air drumming.

Tired of the constant ridicule, and with nothing but a few dollars, some breakfast cereal, and the support of his Aunt Joanie (Jane Lynch), Power sets off across the country to the "paradise" of Newark, where an underground air drumming crew has invited him to join their team. But as the big air drumming competition looms, so does a rival--multi-millionaire drummer Dallas H. (Adrian Grenier), who thinks air drumming is an abomination and seeks to destroy Power and his crew.

More than just a rock’n’roll comedy, ADVENTURES OF POWER is an epic fable about the American Dream--about making something out of nothing, and trusting in your own heartbeat as a way of changing the world. With a phenomenal soundtrack featuring original songs alongside hits by Rush, Phil Collins, the Dazz Band, and more, ADVENTURES OF POWER will have you drumming in your seat and cheering on your feet.

Flixster Users

57% liked it

28 ratings

Critics

25% liked it

16 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Ari Gold

Release Date: October 23, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (19)


  • October 30, 2009
    Adventures of Power
    In Adventures of Power our protagonist, Power, teeters between silly Napoleo Dynamite-like impersonation and seriously comedic acting--the kind seen in a Wes Anderson project. The effect of it all is that the film is, at once, fun and funny but, on the other h...( read more)and, thoughtful and sweet. It marries the two worlds of silliness and poignancy effortlessly.

    Taking place in a small industrial town, the film centers around a lovable, albeit slovenly, loser with a heart of gold who refuses to grow up. His one and only goal, obsession and purpose in life is to play the drums. If you find that to be disheartening, here's the kicker: it's air drums!

    While the world is his cymbal, that instrument is rejecting his stick with a loud screech. Power is misunderstood and ignored by most of the people who surround him in his Texas hometown. After some exploratory roughing-up in a Mexican border town, he realizes his true calling is on the opposite end of the country--in glorious New Jersey.

    If the premise sounds like a gimmick, it is. There's nothing that Power won't do or any length he won't go to in order to show the world what he's made of.

    Adrien Grenier (of "Entourage" fame) makes a fun appearance as Power's boyhood nemesis who secretly shares Power passion for air-drumming despite his rich tycoon father having bought him his way into his very own "legitimate" Country-Emo band--where he plays the real drums.

    In the end, both men are forced to face off in a battle of the air drums on an implausibly televised national competiton. By that time, Power has united with a rag-tag set of misfit "drummers" and become friends with them; he's found a girl who sees him as more than just a pathetic loser and hear's his heart beat in more ways than one. Despite all this hokeyness and unabashed fluff, the movie ends up feeling like a triumph in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. It is unashamed of its sentimentality and never takes itself too seriously.
  • September 16, 2009
    Sorry Jane Lynch but everyone else in this movie is going to get on my nerves.
  • November 8, 2008
    A mine-worker named Power loves of drums and lack of musical skill has turned him into the ridiculed "air drummer" of his small town to discover an underground subculture of air-drummers who just might hold the key to changing the world & he allows him to discover the beat within...( read more) his own heart.

Critic Reviews


October 5, 2009
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Gold's screenplay is a tad too ambitious for its thin comic premise. full review

View more Adventures of Power reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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