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.

Release Year: 2002

Rating: 2.9/10 (24,520 voted)

Critic's Score: 27/100

Director: Tamra Davis

Stars: Britney Spears, Anson Mount, Zoe Saldana

Storyline
Three friends get together and bury a box making a pact to open it at midnight at their high school graduation. In the little town in Georgia that they live in, things soon change. One is little miss perfect, one is an engaged prom queen, and the other is a pregnant outcast. The night of graduation, they open the box and they strike up a conversation. All of a sudden, one brings up the topic of her going to Los Angeles for a record contract audition. They all decide to go together and they leave. With a little money, they set out on the road with a guy named Ben. When one of them tells the other a rumor that he might be a homicidal maniac they are all scared of him. When they reach LA, Lucy (Britney Spears) falls in love with Ben and against her father's wishes, she stays and she goes to the audition.

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

Taglines: What we have is now. And right now, we have each other

Release Date: 15 February 2002

Filming Locations: Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $17,014,226 (USA) (17 February 2002) (2380 Screens)

Gross: $37,188,667 (USA) (5 May 2002)

Runtime: 93 min

Trivia:
The pictures in Lucy's locket are actual pictures of Britney Spears when she was younger.

Goofs:
Continuity: While at the gas station, the burrito that Mimi is eating disappears and reappears between shots.

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.

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

Rating: 5/10

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.

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Comments:

Crossroads

March 14th, 1986

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