I wore a band uniform for eight football seasons during the 1970s. So I was intrigued, these many years later, to find a movie that showcased the atmosphere surrounding the marching band experience. Drumline is a story based on bands and musicians of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Now, I am not African American, and I am not a drummer. Yet at times I still feel the marching band beat in my head, in my bones and in my feet. I thought I still might be able to connect with this film.

The plot is one I will call "The Rebel vs The Rulebook." Devon Miles (Nick Cannon) is a drummer from New York City. We first catch up with him at his high school commencement ceremony and quickly learn he's a bold, talented guy with some leadership skills. He also tends to be a rule-breaker. Does this mean that he's borderline arrogant? Maybe, in some situations, but he almost has a right to this attitude. He's earned a music scholarship to Atlanta A&T University, a historically black college with a renowned marching band. Soon Devon is heading south and toward the next chapter of his life.

At A&T, band director Dr. James Lee (Orlando Jones) runs his pre-semester practice weeks like a military bootcamp. His rules are simple and noble: "One band, one sound," and "You have to learn to follow before you can lead." Even as he indoctrinates and disciplines the new arrivals so that they can become full members, Lee himself feels sandwiched by administrative pressure from above. College President Wagner (Afemo Omilani) is overly eager for the band to be great, and he expects A&T to win the BET Big Southern Classic, an annual band festival. Cross-town rival Morris Brown College is its biggest competitor, and Wagner desperately wants his school to come out on top, even if it involves gimmickry or bribery. After all, alumni donations are on the line. Lee prefers to win on talent, musicianship and flawless performance. What an approach!

And then we have Devon, auditioning for the band. When a rebel finds himself dealing with an environment full of rules -- but one that he still longs to join -- does he conform to the group? Does he cave in to their demands? Does the group bend the rules, or does the rebel get rebuffed? Or does he learn to work with the system and perhaps initiate change from within? As we may expect, Devon defies the rules immediately. And unfortunately, his most constant clashes come against his drumline squad leader, Sean Taylor (Leonard Roberts). If he wants to make it into the band, he has to find ways to get along with both Sean and the rulebook. The trouble is that Devon is also hiding a secret that can jeopardize his participation, his scholarship and even his time in Atlanta. Something's gotta give.

Naturally, there's a love interest. Devon latches on to Laila (Zoe Saldana), a philosophy major and leader of the dance squad, who doesn't fall for his lines as quickly as he hopes.

Have you ever seen a drumline battle or playoff? You'll see plenty of them here. The climax comes at the Big Southern Classic. Will the underdog win this time? The outcome is predictable in some respects, but it also holds a few logical and satisfying surprises.

It must be a challenge for a filmmaker to match music, steps and beats to visual footage. Some continuity and musical glitches are sure to happen along the way. Don't go looking for them. Just let the music march on. This project was an ambitious and complex one, since the producers had to recruit dozens of high school and college musicians from the Atlanta area for the bands. Then the actors had to learn enough of the basic percussion rudiments to look credible during long-distance shots. Yikes!

The only scene that bothered me was the impromptu battle of the bands at a football game between A&T and Morris Brown. Football players need to hear the snap counts from their quarterback, so bands are usually told to refrain from playing when the athletes are at the line of scrimmage. Both bands broke that rule.

Drumline was filmed on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, which stood in for the fictional Atlanta A&T, which in turn was patterned after North Carolina A&T State University. (Morris Brown College is a real school, although it unfortunately lost its accreditation soon after this movie was released.)

Nevertheless, anyone who has marched with a band or drum corps can relate to this story. And the music ROCKS. If the sound of any random drum cadence sets your pulse pounding and your toes a-tapping (left, right, left, right), then you may want to watch Drumline at least once. And if you like what you see and hear here, you can also seek out its sequel, Drumline: A New Beat (2014).