Crossroads (2002/I)

Director:

Tamra Davis

Writer (WGA):

Shonda Rhimes (written by)

Release Date:

15 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | 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:

Parental Relationship | One Word Title | Pregnant Woman | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Miscarriage

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Aug. 3	2:00 AM	BRAVO
Sun. Aug. 3	8:00 AM	BRAVO

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:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38551) | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Netherlands:MG6 | 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:

Anson Mount was originally reluctant to play Ben, but was encouraged by Robert De Niro, with whom he was working at the time on City by the Sea (2002), who turned out to be a huge Spears fan. They went over scenes on break from "Sea", with Mount reading his role and De Niro reading Britney's.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Lucy calls her father from Louisiana, she dials seven numbers. You would have to dial at least 10 numbers to call Georgia from Louisiana.

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:

Lipstick and Bruises

Crossroads: Business in the front, Party in the back...

To begin, because that is always a good starting point with films of this nature, I must take a step forward and say that the acting wasn't excruciating, but it was painful. It was obvious that our three leads, Spears, Saldana, and Manning, were quickly becoming strong friends – and that friendship translated well onto the screen, but it was their individual stories and accomplishments that created the pain. In one scene, we saw this trio as little girls – friends without a care in the world – then instantly we are pushed into the awkward high school dark ages where nobody is friends with anyone. Riffs have been issued, and we are asked to rediscover who these characters are again. Matching them with their young counterparts is easy, but when their mouths open, it is another world all together. Spears leads with a hodgepodge of different characteristics. She dances sensually in her bedroom, unrobes nonchalantly in front of her lab partner, but is most avid about doing the right thing when it comes to morality and truthfulness. There is even one scene where she hangs up on her father, no doubtably instilling the correct visions into her impressionable teen fan base. She couldn't give us a straight character to save her life. Coupled with the annoying Zoe Saldana who tries the hardest of the group, but cannot seem to quite understand the life surrounding her. Then, painful to write, there is Taryn Manning (who gets better with each film) using every cliché redneck white-trash persona possible to define her character. It isn't bad enough that we have Spears fading in and out of her "real" character that to have Manning use "y'all" like it is Shakespeare – yikes. Again, the acting isn't bad (I have seen far, far, far worse), but it isn't Juliard – closer to flunking out of Acting 101.

I have mediocre respect for director Tamra Davis. The woman that gave us the hysterical and near cult-classic "Billy Madison" as well as "Half-Baked", has also turned out slow duds like "Gun Crazy" and, surprise, "Crossroads". Her talent seems to be all over the place instead of choosing projects that will continue to define her. Listening to the commentary, it felt she did this to 1) work with Spears, 2) she needed the rent money, and 3) it was an all girl cast – her youthfulness will be returned. Not exactly the typical reasons artist create on a blank slate. With Davis, I wanted humor, darkness, or anything that would make me remember why I loved "Madison" or "Half-Baked' – ANYTHING – there was nothing. Did I expect it with "Crossroads", probably not, but it would have been nice to see something that was uniquely hers. Road movies are made weekly, and it is those road films that try to bring something new to the genre that stand out and bring more to the table. Wasn't "Billy Madison" just a take-off of "Back to School"? I just question the ability of Davis without a studio baking and thankfully she has taken her raw, rotten talent to television only to further infuse the masses.

We are left with nothing more than the story. What story did "Crossroads" tell? How about one lone girl's quest to find herself and loose her virginity? Does that sound right? Again, this wasn't rocket science writing, yet it seemed amateur from the first word. We know who Spears' love interest is going to be from the beginning, the "take" at the end is given away within the first twenty minutes, and the only strength to this entire film is a scene with Dan Aykroyd saying "I was a Ghostbuster, a Blues Brother, and Conehead – I did this film for my kids". I believe that sums up this whole story in a nutshell. Needless to say, the story lacked any depth, and there was one scene where we attempted to bring real life to the screen with a rape, an accidental death, and our old friend, "underage drinking". Thankfully, Spears could push beyond all this and finally sing her songs near the end, the obvious finale to the film that was started. The ending point didn't match with the starting point in this film.

So, I watched this film. Everyone will have to at one point in their life, I just shortened the inevitable. Again, it wasn't the worst film ever made, "Glitter" still ranks below this, but there wasn't any value in the final performance. Spears didn't push for this film to be made because she wanted to be an actress, she wanted more face time with an audience that seemed on the fence about her ability – and as time has shown, we didn't make the best assumption. The acting wasn't horrible, but everything else was so we are left with a sour taste in our mouth coming from all directions. I will not, nor suggest this film to anyone except my wife, who thought it was better than "Clerks II".

Ouch. I will end on that note.

Grade: ** out of *****