The Naked Brothers Band: Battle of the Bands
Encyclopedia
Battle of the Bands is the second documentary
/rockumentary
/mockumentary
musical
comedy
film and the eleventh and twelfth episode of the Nickelodeon
TEENick
series The Naked Brothers Band
. It was released direct-to-DVD on September 4, 2007 and premiered on television on October 6, 2007.
Rosalina starts to fall for the L.A. Surfers lead singer, Bobby Love (Keli Price
). Nat and Alex learned his false intentions while in the bathroom as Nat is trying to wash out the orange hair dye that he put on as part of his latte-drinking bad boy image that he attempts to pull off to impress Rosalina. Nat did this after seeing a picture of Bobby Love and worrying whether she prefers bad boys.
Nat then says he will try to get along with Bobby, but as he enters Nat and Alex hide in a stall. It turns out that Bobby is just hitting on Rosalina to get to the Naked Brothers Band, and is lying about everything (his faux British accent, his actual signature [he uses a stamp], not writing his own songs, and his birth name, Robert).
Bobby even tells Matt Pinfield that Nat doesn't write his own songs, but he says that he didn't. Nat wants Bobby to confess about his lies and he won't. At the concert for Little Kid's Rock, Nat asks Bobby to confess once again, and he doesn't, and he continues to hit on Rosalina and call Nat "Nate" which angers Nat, and Alex stands up to Bobby and steps on his foot, causing a huge fight. During that fight, Nat declares that the benefit concert is now a battle of the bands, and whoever loses has to give all of their profits from their next CD to the charity.
Cooper and the band apologize for their bad behavior, and Cooper apologizes on his own behalf because he had a dentist appointment to get head gear, and couldn't have stopped the fight before it started. Cooper asks the representative of Little Kids Rock, Patty Scoggins (Emily Richardson), if a “huge band in Old Europe
” called “The Honey Bunnies” (who are actually Mr. Wolff and Betty), could be the opening act for the event. She says that she could see what she could do. They actually perform, and a European producer actually gets impressed by what they did.
Bobby and his band later try to come up with new songs for the concert. Since Bobby doesn't write his own songs, this is very challenging. He comes up with mediocre songs called “My Feet Are So Nice” and “I Love My Hair”. His bandmate's girlfriend, Rita, tells him how silly the songs are, and he just continues to tell her that she's not the boss of the feet or the hair song and that she's not in the band.
Later Nat fails to get Rosalina to believe the truth about Bobby, and while practicing their song for the battle, he and the band make fun of Bobby twice, and she quits, telling Nat that she "expects more from him". She tells Bobby that the band thinks that he's a liar and he doesn't care about the charity
Bobby tries to use words of encouragement like "Have you ever noticed that the word "lousy" is in the word "jealousy"? That's because jealousy... makes you feel lousy"; Rosalina tells him that he said that to her already. Rosalina asks if he was the one who told Matt Pinfield that Nat doesn't write his own songs and what part of England is he from.
Bobby is stuck, because he is not from Britain. In a moment of confusion, he said “Hogwarts,” which is in Harry Potter. Bobby quickly dismisses the problem by asking Rosalina if what she's holding is the music from the Naked Brothers Band. She said that she won't be needing it since she quit the band, and Bobby throws it in the garbage. He then attempts to kiss Rosalina, but she refused, stating that she is confused and she ran away. After Rosalina leaves, Bobby takes her sheet music out of the garbage.
At the concert, Bobby talks to Nat, saying he is sorry that Rosalina left the band and she was a good kisser, and Nat lost control of himself and attacks Bobby. Nat is losing but fortunately, Alex scared Bobby away with a mere balloon that a little girl gave to him. She gave it to Alex after Bobby refused the gift and said “I hope your band kicks Bobby's band's butts!”
Soon after, Bobby's band plays Nat's new song he stole from Rosalina (known as “L.A.” from The Naked Brothers Band) and she realizes Bobby is fake, and she runs over to the Naked Brothers and says that Bobby stole it from her and she should have listened. She then hugs Nat and apologizes while crying.
Nat forgives her, but the rest of the band thinks that she is an idiot, but he yells at them and says not to say anything because she feels badly enough. There is a net of balloons above the stage, and Rosalina wishes that “all of the balloons were made of cement” and they would fall on Bobby Love's big, fat, phony head. Then, Alex reminds Nat that he's afraid of balloons.
Rosalina pulls the rope, releasing the balloons. Balloons fall all over of Bobby's band, which causes him to panic and constantly yell in fear (in a non-British accent) for his mom and jumping on his bandmate, Pork, screaming: “I'm not playing games! They're touching my face!!” Bobby Love and his band are booed off of the stage and gather at the dressing room. He expresses his anger because the band will have to dedicate all of the money from the next CD to the charity. Rita says that after this performance there won't be a next CD. Bobby Love hides his face in his hands in defeat and depression.
Cooper and Patty show the Naked Brothers Band music video “L.A.” that Nat originally wrote on a screen in the wall. Seeing this, Matt Pinfield, who previously supported the L.A. Surfers, gives an explanation of what just happened: The L.A. surfers stole the song from the Naked Brothers and Bobby Love is really "balloon fearing surfer dude Robert Love from California. I repeat, Bobby Love is afraid of balloons, and is from San Diego".
Meanwhile backstage, Nat instructed Rosalina on how to play his new song, "Girl Of My Dreams". Nat and the band come out on to the stage, and tell the audience to give a round of applause for the Honey Bunnies and the LA Surfers; nobody cheers at all.
Then, Nat introduces the song, which is dedicated to a “very special person” (i.e. Rosalina) and notes that he wrote this when he was in pain and now that he's happy, he can actually enjoy it. The band performs the song, "Girl Of My Dreams " and win the battle of the bands.
. Meanwhile, Common Sense Media awarded it a dim 2 stars, citing an “unrealistic plot”. It also recommends a showing age of 10+ because of some inappropriate content.
It was the number one show for the week of October 6 (for children ages 2–14), with almost 4 million viewers.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
/rockumentary
Rockumentary
The term rockumentary is a neologism denoting a documentary about rock music or its musicians. The term was used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast, and by Rob Reiner in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap....
/mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film and the eleventh and twelfth episode of the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
TEENick
TEENick
TEENick was a teen-oriented television programming block that aired on Nickelodeon. The block launched on 2001 and lasted until February 2, 2009. TEENick aired on Sunday nights from 6-9 p.m. ET/PT and, beginning in 2004, began to also air on Saturday nights from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT...
series The Naked Brothers Band
The Naked Brothers Band (TV series)
The Naked Brothers Band is an American television musical comedy created by Polly Draper. The show depicts the daily lives of Draper's sons, who lead a faux rock band from New York City. As a mockumentary, the storyline is a hyperbole of their real lives, and the fictional presence of a camera is...
. It was released direct-to-DVD on September 4, 2007 and premiered on television on October 6, 2007.
Plot
The Naked Brothers Band and another band, the L.A. Surfers compete in a “Battle of the Bands” charity event benefiting Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free instruments and lessons to kids in low-income cities.Rosalina starts to fall for the L.A. Surfers lead singer, Bobby Love (Keli Price
Keli Price
Keli Price is an American actor, musician, and model. Price is best known for his starring role as Chris Abeley in the teen hit film The Clique, executive produced by Tyra Banks...
). Nat and Alex learned his false intentions while in the bathroom as Nat is trying to wash out the orange hair dye that he put on as part of his latte-drinking bad boy image that he attempts to pull off to impress Rosalina. Nat did this after seeing a picture of Bobby Love and worrying whether she prefers bad boys.
Nat then says he will try to get along with Bobby, but as he enters Nat and Alex hide in a stall. It turns out that Bobby is just hitting on Rosalina to get to the Naked Brothers Band, and is lying about everything (his faux British accent, his actual signature [he uses a stamp], not writing his own songs, and his birth name, Robert).
Bobby even tells Matt Pinfield that Nat doesn't write his own songs, but he says that he didn't. Nat wants Bobby to confess about his lies and he won't. At the concert for Little Kid's Rock, Nat asks Bobby to confess once again, and he doesn't, and he continues to hit on Rosalina and call Nat "Nate" which angers Nat, and Alex stands up to Bobby and steps on his foot, causing a huge fight. During that fight, Nat declares that the benefit concert is now a battle of the bands, and whoever loses has to give all of their profits from their next CD to the charity.
Cooper and the band apologize for their bad behavior, and Cooper apologizes on his own behalf because he had a dentist appointment to get head gear, and couldn't have stopped the fight before it started. Cooper asks the representative of Little Kids Rock, Patty Scoggins (Emily Richardson), if a “huge band in Old Europe
Old Europe
Old Europe is a term that was first used by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in January 2003 to refer to European countries that did not support the 2003 invasion of Iraq, specifically France and Germany...
” called “The Honey Bunnies” (who are actually Mr. Wolff and Betty), could be the opening act for the event. She says that she could see what she could do. They actually perform, and a European producer actually gets impressed by what they did.
Bobby and his band later try to come up with new songs for the concert. Since Bobby doesn't write his own songs, this is very challenging. He comes up with mediocre songs called “My Feet Are So Nice” and “I Love My Hair”. His bandmate's girlfriend, Rita, tells him how silly the songs are, and he just continues to tell her that she's not the boss of the feet or the hair song and that she's not in the band.
Later Nat fails to get Rosalina to believe the truth about Bobby, and while practicing their song for the battle, he and the band make fun of Bobby twice, and she quits, telling Nat that she "expects more from him". She tells Bobby that the band thinks that he's a liar and he doesn't care about the charity
Bobby tries to use words of encouragement like "Have you ever noticed that the word "lousy" is in the word "jealousy"? That's because jealousy... makes you feel lousy"; Rosalina tells him that he said that to her already. Rosalina asks if he was the one who told Matt Pinfield that Nat doesn't write his own songs and what part of England is he from.
Bobby is stuck, because he is not from Britain. In a moment of confusion, he said “Hogwarts,” which is in Harry Potter. Bobby quickly dismisses the problem by asking Rosalina if what she's holding is the music from the Naked Brothers Band. She said that she won't be needing it since she quit the band, and Bobby throws it in the garbage. He then attempts to kiss Rosalina, but she refused, stating that she is confused and she ran away. After Rosalina leaves, Bobby takes her sheet music out of the garbage.
At the concert, Bobby talks to Nat, saying he is sorry that Rosalina left the band and she was a good kisser, and Nat lost control of himself and attacks Bobby. Nat is losing but fortunately, Alex scared Bobby away with a mere balloon that a little girl gave to him. She gave it to Alex after Bobby refused the gift and said “I hope your band kicks Bobby's band's butts!”
Soon after, Bobby's band plays Nat's new song he stole from Rosalina (known as “L.A.” from The Naked Brothers Band) and she realizes Bobby is fake, and she runs over to the Naked Brothers and says that Bobby stole it from her and she should have listened. She then hugs Nat and apologizes while crying.
Nat forgives her, but the rest of the band thinks that she is an idiot, but he yells at them and says not to say anything because she feels badly enough. There is a net of balloons above the stage, and Rosalina wishes that “all of the balloons were made of cement” and they would fall on Bobby Love's big, fat, phony head. Then, Alex reminds Nat that he's afraid of balloons.
Rosalina pulls the rope, releasing the balloons. Balloons fall all over of Bobby's band, which causes him to panic and constantly yell in fear (in a non-British accent) for his mom and jumping on his bandmate, Pork, screaming: “I'm not playing games! They're touching my face!!” Bobby Love and his band are booed off of the stage and gather at the dressing room. He expresses his anger because the band will have to dedicate all of the money from the next CD to the charity. Rita says that after this performance there won't be a next CD. Bobby Love hides his face in his hands in defeat and depression.
Cooper and Patty show the Naked Brothers Band music video “L.A.” that Nat originally wrote on a screen in the wall. Seeing this, Matt Pinfield, who previously supported the L.A. Surfers, gives an explanation of what just happened: The L.A. surfers stole the song from the Naked Brothers and Bobby Love is really "balloon fearing surfer dude Robert Love from California. I repeat, Bobby Love is afraid of balloons, and is from San Diego".
Meanwhile backstage, Nat instructed Rosalina on how to play his new song, "Girl Of My Dreams". Nat and the band come out on to the stage, and tell the audience to give a round of applause for the Honey Bunnies and the LA Surfers; nobody cheers at all.
Then, Nat introduces the song, which is dedicated to a “very special person” (i.e. Rosalina) and notes that he wrote this when he was in pain and now that he's happy, he can actually enjoy it. The band performs the song, "Girl Of My Dreams " and win the battle of the bands.
Cast
| Actor | Character | Character overview |
|---|---|---|
| Nat Wolff Nat Wolff Nathaniel Marvin "Nat" Wolff is an American child actor, and singer-songwriter, composer, and keyboardist. He is the frontman of Nat & Alex Wolff... |
"self" | The lead singer/songwriter and keyboardist. Nat also plays piano, drums, and guitar. |
| Alex Wolff Alex Wolff Alexander Draper "Alex" Wolff is an American child actor and musician, currently playing in Nat and Alex Wolff. He is best known for his role as himself on the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band, also starring his older brother, Nat Wolff; the series was created by the boys' mother, Polly... |
"self" | Brother of Nat Wolff/drummer in a do-rag Do-rag A do-rag, also spelled doo-rag, du-rag, durag, is a piece of cloth used to cover the head. According to the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster the term derives from do as in hairdo.- History :... usually red white and blue. Alex can also play piano and guitar, and he is a "milkoholic." |
| David Julian Levi David Levi (musician) David Julian Levi is an American teen actor and keyboard player. He is best-known for the role as himself on The Naked Brothers Band... |
"self" | Keyboardist |
| Thomas Batuello Thomas Batuello Thomas Vann Batuello is an American musician and child actor best known for his appearances in the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band. The show is a mockumentary about two brothers and their friends who form a band. Batuello was cast alongside stars Nat and Alex Wolff, with whom he had... |
"self" | Cellist |
| Cooper Pillot Cooper Pillot Cooper Pillot is an American teen actor. He attends Friends Seminary.-Summary:Cooper was born in Manhattan, New York. He is best known for his starring role as himself, the band manager on The Naked Brothers Band... |
"self" | Band manager, in a suit and glasses |
| Allie DiMeco Allie DiMeco Alexandra Jean Theresa "Allie" DiMeco is an American actress and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life and career:... |
"Rosalina" | Bass player and back up singer |
| Qaasim Middleton Qaasim Middleton Qaasim Asani Malik Seawright-Middleton is an American child actor, singer and musician best known for his role on The Naked Brothers Band. Qaasim is also known for his role on the HBO documentary movie The Music in Me.-Personal life:... |
"self" | Guitarist |
| Michael Wolff Michael Wolff Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, actor, and jazz educator. He was the bandleader and musical director of The Arsenio Hall Show... |
father of Nat and Alex(Dad)/Sonny" | Accordion-player |
| Jesse Cook Draper Jesse Draper Jessica Cook Draper is an American actress. She first became renowned as a co-star on the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band, which starred her cousins Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff and was created by her aunt Polly Draper... |
“Jesse Cook” | Crazy band tutor and babysitter, not always "into it" |
| Catherine Curtin | “Betty” | Sonny's crazy girlfriend |
| Matt Pinfield Matt Pinfield Matt Pinfield is a music personality and TV host, best known for being a video deejay on MTV and VH1. He currently lives in Harrison, New Jersey having previously resided in East Brunswick Township... |
"self" | Television critic |
| Keli Price Keli Price Keli Price is an American actor, musician, and model. Price is best known for his starring role as Chris Abeley in the teen hit film The Clique, executive produced by Tyra Banks... |
“Bobby Love” | Lead singer of the L.A. Surfers, movie's main antagonist |
| Emily Richardson | “Patty Scoggins” | Representative for Little Kids Rock Little Kids Rock Little Kids Rock is a nonprofit organization that provides free instruments and lessons to children in under-served public schools. The organization is supported by a number of music industry luminaries including Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Joe Satriani, BB King, Jason Newsted, Linkin Park's Brad Delson,... |
| Grant Monohon | “Pork” | Bassist of the L.A. Surfers |
| Lyle Mackston | "Drummer" | Drummer of the L.A. Surfers |
| Ty Daniel Smith | "Guitarist" | Guitarist of the L.A. Surfers |
| Karen DiConectto | "Rita" | Girlfriend of the L.A. Surfers' guitarist |
Crew
| Role | Crew |
|---|---|
| Director | Polly Draper Polly Draper Polly Carey Draper is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director. She is renowned for her ensemble role in ABC's hit series Thirtysomething. In 1998, Draper starred in her screenwriting debut The Tic Code, featuring Gregory Hines which was inspired by her husband Michael... |
| Screenwriter | Will McRobb Chris Viscardi |
| Creator | Polly Draper |
| Executive Producer | Polly Draper Albie Hetcht |
| Music Supervisor | Michael Wolff Michael Wolff Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, actor, and jazz educator. He was the bandleader and musical director of The Arsenio Hall Show... |
| Music Producers | Michael Wolff Michael A. Levine Michael A. Levine Michael A. Levine is an American composer born on 20 February 1964 in Tokyo, Japan, and currently based in Los Angeles.-Biography:His Concerto for Pedal Steel Guitar and Orchestra is believed to be the first concerto ever written for the pedal steel guitar... |
| Co-Executive Producer | Michael Wolff |
| Consulting Producer | Tim Draper |
| Producers | Ken H. Keller Caron Rudner-Keller |
| Line Producer | Caron Rudner-Keller |
| Director of Photography | Ken H. Keller |
| Camera | Ken H. Keller |
| Post Production Supervisor | Ken H. Keller |
| Coordinating Producer | Kari Kim |
| Associate Producer | Craig Cobb |
| Editor | Craig Cobb |
| Extras Casting | Tuffy Questall Serena Stanley |
| Casting Directors | Sharon Lieblein Laura Maxwell-Scott |
| Art Department | Craig Cobb |
| Composer (Music Score) | Nat Wolff Nat Wolff Nathaniel Marvin "Nat" Wolff is an American child actor, and singer-songwriter, composer, and keyboardist. He is the frontman of Nat & Alex Wolff... |
Reception
The movie was generally well-received by fans of the show, and it was awarded a 8.3 “great” rating on TV.comTV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
. Meanwhile, Common Sense Media awarded it a dim 2 stars, citing an “unrealistic plot”. It also recommends a showing age of 10+ because of some inappropriate content.
It was the number one show for the week of October 6 (for children ages 2–14), with almost 4 million viewers.