Crossroads (2002)

Pop idol Britney Spears stars in this sweet coming-of-age movie about three childhood friends who've grown apart, but find out they may still have a lot in common. After graduating from high school, Lucy (Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldana), and Mimi (Taryn Manning) decide to take a road trip to L.A. to audition for a record label. Along the way, there's a lot of heartbreak and female bonding (not to mention a lot of midriff-baring--in her first scene, Spears jumps on her bed in her underwear, singing along to a Madonna song), as each of the three girls learns more about herself and life. Crossroads could have been trite schmaltz, but the script has some grit and the direction is fresh and relaxed--and, most significantly, Spears is far more sympathetic and engaging than you might expect. Also featuring Dan Aykroyd and Kim Cattrall. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Good Movie

I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was a really cute movie. And as in other reviews I didn't think the acting was that bad. Some people have to realize Britney isn't an actor she is a singer. So you can't compare Britney's acting to some like Kirsten Dunst, or Julia Roberts. August 26, 2008

worse than nothing

This movie was a waste of time, energy, and money. It should never have been released. Britney may have played a silly young receptionist on a recent tv episode and appeared to do well but that is also a back to back comparison of insane britney and a step back up for her. I'm glad she's doing better, but let's face it, the girl can't sing worth a damn and she certainly could not act her way out of a paper bag when Crossroads was made. She might do better now in an insipid role like the "Mother" episode. I bought Crossroads from an amazon seller several years ago for 1 cent plus shipping, and it was a waste of the 1 cent and certainly of the shipping. I tried to give it away but nobody would take it so I finally tossed it in the trash. April 22, 2008

Dissapointed

Was very dissapointed with this DVD. It arrived in the package scratched. The DVD was not in it's holder. April 6, 2008

A Dark Dramatic Experiment : Who Knew Britney Could Act?

All I knew about this movie was that Britney was in it, and that it spawned the ballad hit "Not a Girl (Not Yet a Woman)". Still, deciding to give it a fair chance, I watched this with less than zero expectations.

What a shocker. This was not at all the fluffy teen coming-of-age comedy that I thought it would be. Instead, what we get is a dark, sombre and chilling meditation on adolescent life, and none of the lead characters are perfect angels. One of them is pregnant, one is chronically obsessed with herself, and the other is looking for her birth mother.

Perhaps the saddest, most poignant scene here is when Britney, who is in search of her biological mother, finally lands up at her mothers' door. This entire segment plays out like some of the best indie cinema I've seen. Her mother tells her that she hates her and regrets the day she was born. How realistic! No happy ending here. Watching the young Miss Spears pull off this mature scene with the most nuanced facial expressions, I was quite taken with her actual acting ability. She's not Meryl Streep, but she does have a certain *something*.

Yes, the film does have its' cheesy moments (the male lead is thoroughly wasted), and the gratuitous performance of the horrid "I Love Rock and Roll" by Britney at a karaoke bar is perhaps the most annoying thing here. But there is much to rediscover and love about this film. If you've ever seen it at your local Blockbuster or if you've seen it on discount sale and never thought of picking it up, well here is a very strong recommendation that you should!

"Crossroads" is not a Britney film. Its more like a sad, slow-moving independent film with heart. What a surprise! February 15, 2008

Crossroads : An Appreciation

Recently re watched this film after my initial viewing many years ago, my how things have changed. Not just in terms of the life of its star Britney Spears but also for the scriptwriter of this film. Before Shonda Rhimes created Grey's Anatomy she wrote this girl empowerment film that is a testament to renewing and strengthening one's friendships. One thing that has not changed since my initial viewing of the film however is the power of the film and its performances. I speak of the moment when Spears's' character Lucy is sitting on her bed after accepting her diploma as school valedictorian and asking through her tears of her father (Dan Akroyd) " Is that all there is?" We've all been there asking that question. Lucy is looking for a lot of things in her life right now mainly a purpose, a sense of adventure, and some friends. Her best friends since childhood Mimi (Taryn Manning) and Kit (Zoe Saldana) have abandoned her since she is viewed as too sweet and innocent and therefore not part of their fast living scene. Kit is engaged to a shady college guy who her only contact with is over the phone, and Mimi is pregnant and keeping mum about the father. It is on the final night of school that they reunite and dig up a box that they buried as youngsters and filled with personal mementos. They decide to take a road trip since Mimi is going to pursue her dream of becoming a singer they are going to head out to California for an audition where Lucy and Kit will be her backup singers. They are being transported by Ben (Anson Mount) a handsome young man with a criminal record, rumored to have killed a man. Initially the girls fear for their life being driven across state lines with a possible man slaughterer but soon learn that his arrest and incarceration was to protect an abused stepsister and as such the girls can all regard him as a sweet and misunderstood man. Each girl is on a quest: Mimi fame and fortune to raise her little one, Kit to reunite with her man and plan their epic wedding, and Lucy wants to find her mother who walked out on her and her father when Lucy was very young. Do the girls achieve their dreams and end up becoming friends again? As we learn with this film that is not important but rather the journey that each of these girls go on is what is most important. The things they learn about themselves and each other is what is going to affect them for the rest of their lives. Now on a serious note I know as a viewer you are supposed to be able to draw the line between the actor and the character they play but watching Lucy in a scene in a bar where she has just won a karaoke contest in no small part thanks to skimpy outfits and sexy dance moves argue with Ben because she wants to stay out and party more and the next morning complains of a hangover I thought is this Britney? Also worth noting is that Spear's younger sister Jamie Lynne plays the young Lucy in the film's opening moments and many people would say that she is more like her sister now more than ever since just like Mimi in the film she is very young and pregnant. If nothing else this film belongs in a time capsule like the one the girls bury and reopen through the course of the film for all of us to remember a simpler time when Britney Spears was the biggest pop star in the world who still had her looks and unlimited potential. For eighty eight minutes through this film we can live in that world again. February 2, 2008

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