Crossroads (2002/I)

Director:

Tamra Davis

Writer (WGA):

Shonda Rhimes (written by)

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Dreams change. Friends are forever.

Plot:

Three childhood best friends, and a guy they just met, take a trip across the country, finding themselves and their friendship in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Graduation | Pregnant | High School | On The Road | School

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Britney Spears	...	Lucy Wagner
Anson Mount	...	Ben
Zoe Saldana	...	Kit (as Zoë Saldana)
Taryn Manning	...	Mimi
Dan Aykroyd	...	Pete Wagner
Kim Cattrall	...	Caroline
Justin Long	...	Henry
Beverly Johnson	...	Kit's Mother
Bahni Turpin	...	Ms. Jenson
Kool Moe Dee	...	Bar Owner (as Kool Mo Dee)
Richard Voll	...	Dylan
Katherine Boecher	...	Dylan's Other Girl (as Pippi B.)
Dave Allen	...	Bar Patron (as David 'Gruber' Allen)
Kyle Davis	...	High School Burnout
Branden Williams	...	Kurt

Also Known As:

Not a Girl (USA) (working title)
Untitled Britney Spears Project (USA) (working title)
What Are Friends For (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and brief teen drinking.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38551) | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:MG6 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Filmco Enterprises

Trivia:

Bowling For Soup, the band who features in the film and have 3 songs in the film, belong to Spears' record company, Jive Records, as do *Nsync (the band featuring Spears' then boyfriend Justin Timberlake) who also have a song that features in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lucy is harassed by the drunk guy and Ben comes to her rescue, they all bolt out of the bar and Mimi grabs all the money they'd made, cupping it in two big handfuls. When we see Mimi running out, she only has a small bundle of money in one hand.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Young Mimi: Hand me the flashlight.
Young Lucy: Here it is.
Young Mimi: Kit, I've got the shovel.
Young Kit: You do?
Young Mimi: Lucy, get the box.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Thirteen (2003)

Soundtrack:

Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

For what it is, a teen road movie, not as bad as many are claiming.

I read all the reviews and comments before seeing "Crossroads." Since I got it free from the public library, and "time" was my only investment, I'm not sorry at all. Roughly 50% of IMDb votes are "1" which is totally absurd. A more accurate rating is probably in the 4 to 6 range, compared to all similar films. "Center Stage", where the central characters are dancers training to make it big in ballet, is a similar film.

Other commentors say "Britney Spears can't sing." Those comments are equally absurd. While I'm not particularly a fan of hers, she indeed can sing, very well. As a singer she is as good as most of the rest of the young singers who cater to the teeniebopper audience. She certainly is a better singer than Madonna who achieved her fame on image alone.

Can Britney act? Compared to good young actresses, Britney is fairly amateurish. But she didn't have to stretch very far for the role of a proper, studious high school valedictorian who decided to look for her mother who abandoned her as a baby to be raised by her single father (Ackroyd). And, along the way write poetry which was then put to music by a young man who drove the three girls west to Los Angeles.

Most of the situations and dialog are silly, and there are many close-range shots of a pretty, smiling Britney. However I suspect they would appeal to the under-15 crowd of Britney fans. I enjoyed the film from the point of view that it gave me some glimpse of the real Britney, one that is not revealed in her concerts and music videos. I believe, as she grows up and out of her former image, she will develop a more mature singing and acting style and will continue her popularity for a long time. (Year 2005 update: I was wrong, she's become very strange! Year 2007 update: She has gotten even more strange! Year 2008 update: Even her little sister has become strange, and a new mother!!))

Critic Ebert gives an accurate review of the facts in the case, I will not repeat them here. While I probably would not recommend this film to anyone, I personally enjoyed watching it. Not a very good film, still it also is not a bad film. Just juvenile.