Young Britney (played by her little sister, Jamie
Lynn) and two other childhood friends put their
dreams in a box and bury them. They vow to be friends
forever and dig up the box after they finish high
school. Fast forward to graduation night; the three
have become nearly strangers, save for one common
interest: getting in a car and driving west.
It's a surprisingly well-acted film with some very
good dialogue that brings to the surface the teen
experience. Even the story begins strongly, but gets
lost somewhere on the road between Alabama and LA.
Britney fans should have a great time just watching
Britney: dance (in her underwear), laugh with her
friends, cry, read "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman"
as a poem. But, curiously, for a film of this type,
Britney only sings one of her own songs (though
"Overprotected" does run during the credits with some
out-takes).
Admittedly, I'm rather indifferent to Britney and
her music, and still I didn't mind this film. It
really could have been above average, hadn't it
gotten a bit sloppy on the road. The first sign of
trouble occurs when the car busts its radiator. The
three girls use the opportunity to let off some steam
of their own, but the sequence just doesn't work.
From there, the forward motion is never quite
regained, though several strong sequences do pull the
viewer through.
One such "real" scene: Ben (played extremely well
by Anson Mount) storms out of the car at the end of
his patience, "I've been in a car full of chicks for
days!" Though, the four fight over tunes on the radio
... most of the soundtrack turns out to be rock and
roll (older stuff to boot). However, there is a
rather fun 20 seconds when the three sing along to
"Bye Bye Bye."
There's also a wonderful
scene on grad night in which Britney and her best
male friend (lab partner) have apparently agreed to
"do it" for the first time. He's ecstatic, she's
completely apathetic. Nonetheless, they give it the
o' college (err ... high school) try.
Britney, "This isn't how I'd hoped it would
be."
Lab Partner, "That's weird, because this is exactly
how I hoped it would be."
This purposely-awkward scene is extremely well
scripted, acted (especially by the lab partner),
directed, edited. Other such strong sequences
populate the eventually meandering plot line.
While perhaps attempting to include too much of
the teen-girl experience in one picture, the film
sacrifices some well-earned momentum and dilutes its
climax. All in all, an average film that teens will
enjoy more than adults.
"I think Britney Spears has the same thing that
Will Smith has, I think she's more than a singer and
can be a really good actress" said producer Ann Carli
to screenwriter Shonda Rhimes; and that's how
"Crossroads" began.
Britney says she told the filmmakers, "I didn't
want just a simple teen movie, I wanted to touch
hearts, and say to other girls out there that they're
not alone in what they're going through."
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