What's Metal Lords About?

There's a battle of the bands in a just a few weeks, and an outcast kid is convinced he'll rule his high school if he can just convince his timid best friend to get on stage with him and play some righteous heavy metal.

Who's involved?

• D.B. Weiss, who co-created Game of Thrones, is the film's writer-producer, and he was lightly inspired by his own teenage belief that his various high school bands were the most important things in the world.
• Jaeden Martell (It, Knives Out) is sweet and nerdy Kevin Schlieb, who isn't quite sure he loves heavy metal but still wants to hang with his best friend Hunter Sylvester.
• Newcomer Adrian Greensmith is Hunter. He isn't as tough as he thinks, but he's willing to be a hellraiser in the name of becoming a rock god.
• Isis Hainsworth (Wanderlust) is Emily Spector, an exchange student with emotional problems who is so boss on the cello that Kevin decides she should be in the band.
• Joe Manganiello (True Blood, Magic Mike) is Troy Nix, a former metalhead who works at a rehab center where Hunter's dad sends him when he gets out of line.
• Sufe Bradshaw (Veep) is Dean Swanson, whose hardcore approach to running her high school would probably terrify Axl Rose.

Why (and to whom) do we recommend it?

You know this isn't your typical teen comedy when Clay Moss (Noah Urrea), the lead singer of a pop-rock high school band called Mollycoddle, turns out to be a really nice guy. There's still a jock bully who causes trouble for our heroes, but in your standard coming-of-age flick, Clay would be a villian, too. Instead, he's a popular kid who compliments Hunter's guitar skills and asks Kevin if he wants to hang out.

That surprising kindness suffuses the film. Like the recent classic Booksmart, Metal Lords knows that underneath their rebellious posturing, its young characters are innocent, and it loves them for it. We're encouraged to root for Hunter and Kevin's friendship, even while we're laughing at their dumb teenage choices. (Naming their band Skullfu**er is at the top of the list.)

Yet for all the idiosyncracies on display, Weiss and director Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) clearly understand the teen comedy basics. We get an awkward-sweet sex scene, a loony chase sequence, an uplifting emotional breakthrough, and even a surreal comedy bit in a hot tub. These tropes help the movie go down smooth, even when the kids are trying to melt our faces with their music.

Pairs well with

• Unpregnant (HBO Max), another emotionally rich comedy about teens on a wild adventure.
• Sex Education (Netflix), the smart and addictive series about high school students trying to do a grown-up job.
• On My Block (Netflix), the coming-of-age series about kids in South Central Los Angeles.