Date Released: 02/15/2002
Rated: PG-13 (for sexual content and brief teen drinking scenes) Film Length: 94 Minutes
Produced by: Ann Carli
Directed by: Tamra Davis
Cast: Britney Spears, Anson Mount, Zoe Saldana, Taryn Manning, Dan Aykroyd, Kim Cattrall, Richard Voll
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
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It's nice to see that the trend lives on for filmmakers to suck whatever blood out of a stone that they can transform into an instant money-making venture. And what is this so-called trend you ask? Why it's taking mega singing sensations and trying to turn them into acting forces in vapid vehicles designed to cater to the appeal of their fans. But then again, this phenomenon is nothing new. Heck, they tried it with Elvis on numerous occasions where The King was always crowned badly. And more recently, songstress Mariah Carey found out the hard way with her horrendous participation in the rusty-coated "Glitter". And the highly laughable transit treat "On The Line" that featured 'N Sync heartthrobs Lance Bass and Joey Fatone derailed off the track. But hey, maybe the odds can be conquered by feeding movie audiences superstar pop princess Britney Spears in an overly cheeky coming-of-age, on-the-road romancer "Crossroads"? Sorry, no dice.
Britney Spears, with her blinding white teeth and youngish bubbly sexuality that would perversely encourage most pot-bellied middle-aged men to uncontrollably perspire, cannot carry this aimless female bonding flick on her pretty little shoulders entirely. Sure, there will be flocks of adolescent girls lining up in droves to check out their chart-topping songstress do her thing on the big screen. And the direction by Tamra Davis and the screenplay put forth by Shonda Rhimes ensures that Britney would incorporate her trademark persona of singing bubble gum tunes and showing off that curvy body in tempting, coyish fashion. It's hard to tell as to whether "Crossroads" wants to exploit its star musical muse or her legions of fans or both for that matter. Whatever the intention, "Crossroads" won't win Spears any SAG awards in the immediate future. She's asked to do what is necessary of her in a film that clearly wants to capitalize on her glorified pop star magnitude. Strikingly synthetic and shamelessly a self-promoting ploy, Britney and her cinematic handlers conjure up this tepid teen-oriented road-running romance flick that travels along in a fickle, pseudo-fervent manner.
Lucy (Spears) and her two sidekicks Mimi (Taryn Manning) and Kit (Zoe Saldana) were close Georgian 10 year-olds when they made a pact to bury a box of items that would represent their hopes and dreams for future consideration, particularly the point where they would graduate high school. Well, eight years later we find the trio--not as close as they were years ago--in random situational cases. Lucy is the fortunate good gal whose grades and poise earned her the rightful position as the school's celebrated valedictorian. Mimi, meanwhile, is the pregnant riff raffish element who is constantly being ostracized by her heartless peers. And the glowing newly-engaged Kit presides over the school's coolest clique. Although the gals have drifted apart somewhat, they rejoin each other as young women whom all have made a promise as kids to pursue their ambitions in that treasued box they buried nearly a decade ago.
All three girls, upon retrieving that "magical" box of memories, realize that they need to take advantage of the adventure that awaits them. We find out that Lucy has always had the penchant for wanting to sing (nice way to find an excuse for Spears to utilize her singing chops) much to the dismay of her hard-working divorced father (Dan Aykroyd) who wants her to study medicine since she has the brain power for it. But Lucy, armed with the need to be a singer, finds another excuse for wanting to get away from her dad's demands--she would like to head west and look up her long lost mother (Kim Cattrall), a woman who had abandoned Lucy when she was a toddler. As for Kit, this trip out west is ideal because then she could hook up with her beloved fiance' since he's attending college out in California. And Mimi, an aspiring singer like Lucy, wouldn't mind escaping the confines of an area that constantly belittles her so the expected young mother is game to get away as well. In fact, it is Mimi's hunky male pal Ben (Anson Mount), a good-natured ex-con, that provides the ride for the teenaged triple threats to explore their option on the highways and biways of America courtesy of his '73 Buick convertible. So thus, let the good times begin...
Before Britney and company can utter, "Oops!...I did it again!", the melodramatic twists and turns are force fed upon the audience in half-baked fashion. Ruthlessly contrived and monotonous, the film gives in to the conventional nonsense of a pandering chick flick. Predictably, studmuffin Ben's car breaks down, allowing the gang to engage in silly little high jinks along the way. To pass the time away, the girls become loquacious over stuff ranging from sex to rehashing good times about the past. In an effort to earn some quick cash, the girls enter a karaoke contest where Lucy (as expected) dominates the proceedings by wowing the crowd with her version of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll". Hmmm...not bad for a valedictorian who is supposedly new to this dream of belting tunes out of her untested vocal pipes, huh? Guess she must have excelled in music class as well!
But hey, the drama doesn't stop there, folks. The quartet run the gamut of emotions that's sure to satisfy those with a sappy storyline fetish. Let's see...we find out that Lucy's estranged mother doesn't want to be bothered with her (ah, don't you think that's why the woman ran out on you some fifteen years ago, sweetheart?), or that Kit's honeybunny is a philandering cad who also knocked up Mimi in the process, or that the virginal Lucy gradually becomes hot and bothered over sensitive bad boy Ben, especially after he sets a poem of Lucy's to music entitled "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (which isn't much of a coincidence--this happens to be Spears's new hit single). Yeah, there's pretty much a lot of static here to fortify this interminable celluloid soap opera.
"Crossroads" cloddingly dances with Britney Spears's ebullient pop diva image, throwing her out there like some lyrical Lolita out to seduce the masses--whether it be by appeasing the teenybopper girls who want to emulate the pop pixy or providing carnal comfort for the hormone-induced male audience (of all ages) who may harbor more fascination than just watching this ripe golden-blonde singer headline her own movie. And Britney does oblige moviegoers with her arousing sexuality disguised as an innocuous exuberant display of blossoming womanhood (glimpses of flesh-peddling stunts such as briefly having her parade around in skimpy lingerie while energetically lip-synching to her idol Madonna's "Open Your Heart" as an example). This scene, much like a lot of the goings-on in "Crossroads", is a mere and mindless tease.
Spears is mildly acceptable as Lucy, but her role does cry out a lack of believability in some spots where the film dips into her so-called emotional state. Spears is never given the opportunity to come from behind that annoyingly giggly tart label that the film pins on her. Davis's direction tries desperately to protect Britney from exposing her thespian weaknesses by wrapping her up in circumstances that allow her to be Britney Spears, recording artist...not Britney Spears, potential actress. For the most part, this demonstrates that the film is more geared toward selling this vocalizing vixen as a pitchwoman for her own self-interets (well, her hit "Overprotected" is predominently heard...a tune that's off of her third album) rather than focusing as a viable entertainment.
As a rule of thumb, precious Britney is propelled to the front of the frolicking antics (after all--she is the star) while her co-stars Manning and Saldana act like her two personal bookends. Ironically, the background supporting players do show some surge of dimension that should have been saved for the film's head honcho Spears. In the singing sequences, the gals come off painfully as a manufactured copycat of "Josie and the Pussycats". Mount fares okay as the resident boytoy out to accompany these fun-wheeling babes on their road to discovery while taking part in the blooming romantic growth of the lucid Lucy.
"Crossroads" takes us on a field trip alright--one that leaves us wondering if it's worth getting to that elusive destination in the first place. Unfortunately, this young female-awakening dilapidated drama demands everything of Britney Spears as she juggles the rigors of being a sugar-coated lamb one moment than a rampaging rogue in a slinky bra the next. While she was experimenting with the trivial aspects of love as well as realizing her bursting feminine voice, the filmmakers forgot to supply Ms. Spears with a consistent character that resonates beyond the obvious marketing machinations. Mandy Moore, Britney's top forty countdown contemporary, is far more superior in her low-key but achingly whiny offering "A Walk to Remember" than Spears is with the jittery contrivance of "Crossroads". This is one incurable over-extended music video that didn't know when to adhere to the cue, "okay people, that's a wrap!"
Frank rates this film: * 1/2 (out of 4 stars)