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COURTESY PHOTO - Paramount
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Skeptic and fan agree
Critics will love to laugh at Spears flick
By Dan Miller
Flat Hat Associate Editor
Don't get me wrong: I don't dislike Britney Spears as a concept.
I have no problem with a barely legal, amply-endowed starlet strutting her way up the music charts in a skin-tight, pink catsuit. If she wants to enter the world of cinema with "Crossroads," and people want to watch it, more power to her. It's not as if I'd ever want to actually listen to her records or see her pretend to be an actress. If I'm going to spend my money at the theater, I'll go see something made by real artists.
That said, I found a bizarre pleasure in watching Britney's screen debut. The plot was complete big-studio formula, of course. The casting was made from a purely aesthetic point of view, the jokes were corny and disposable, the characters were two inches deep and the entire movie was a vehicle for her to sing her hit single in the climactic moment. But taking the movie for what it is, anyone can find pleasure in it.
Britney's first acting role is Lucy, a picture-perfect high school valedictorian. When she was but a wee little girl, she and her friends Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning) buried a time capsule with their dreams in it, planning to open it at midnight on their high school graduation. They promised to be friends forever. No such luck the girls immediately go their separate ways.
Raised by an overprotective father (a strangely casted Dan Ackroyd), Britney dreams to meet the mother she never knew. Mimi dreams to move west and pursue a singing career. Kit dreams of having the perfect husband and wedding.
The three come together again and the girls head on an action-packed adventure out west to pursue their dreams, accompanied by Mimi's dreamy friend, Ben. Oh yeah, and Ben might be a convicted murderer.
Watching "Crossroads" on video will be a blast, because then you can loudly make fun of it without worry about being attacked by legions of pre-teens defending the honor of her majesty Ms. Spears. You can make fun of the girls' eye-candy travel companion Ben (played by Anson Mount and his pair of million-dollar dimples) and the fact that he curiously keeps the same length of stubble throughout the entire film. You can make fun of the gratuitous product placement (how many times did YOU see Pepsi or Herbal Essences?).
Even the serious moments are morbidly funny. Late in the movie there is a tragic accident, but even the trip to the hospital and the tear-jerking scenes that followed were a laugh-riot.
One of the high points of "Crossroads" is Britney's deflowering. Sorry guys, there are no big boob shots; this is still a PG-13 movie. But there is a "show me your abs, I'll show you mine" scene between the buff Lucy and chiseled Ben. Then, just as it gets good, the scene cuts out and the rest is left to your imagination. Such a tease.
To Britney's credit, she gives a surprisingly good turn as an actress. Her coaches taught her well. Even her big crying scenes go off without a hitch. She has a very likable screen presence, especially in the opening scene when she is prancing about in her skivvies lip-synching to Madonna. Even though I would never expect to see a trailer tease "Britney Spears IS Hedda Gabbler," she may be able to sustain a limited film career.
The supporting cast is played adequately, even if Mimi speaks as if she has marbles in her mouth. "Sex in the City's" Kim Catrall makes a frigid cameo as Britney's estranged mother.
Even people who are (rightfully) skeptical of "Crossroads'" credibility as a legitimate film can enjoy this celebration of disposable pop culture. "Crossroads" utilizes every formula and crowd-pleasing trick in the book, and making fun of the movie's contrivances is a hoot.
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COURTESY PHOTO - Paramount
Lucy (Britney Spears) goes on a cross-country journey with friends to meet her estranged mother (Kim Cattrall).
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Droves of Spears fans destined to gobble up 'Crossroads'
By Cristin Stickles
The Flat Hat
I was destined to adore this movie. Even if Britney Spears had chosen to star as Princess Toadstool in that awful live action Super Mario Brothers film, I still would have been first in line to buy tickets, wearing the T-shirt from her last concert tour and clutching my Mattel "Oops, I did it again"-themed Britney doll. It was no big surprise that I loved "Crossroads." The real shocker is that even someone who doesn't have four Britney posters up in her bedroom might not hate it.
Successfully accomplishing the music-to-movies crossover is no easy feat, and Britney's first project is burdened with the task of entertaining a screaming TRL fan-base without making its star a laughingstock. Had the movie bombed on its opening weekend or been panned by critics, it would be impossible to imagine a respectable future for the 20-year-old songstress in Hollywood. But Britney (or her management) made an intelligent choice for her first film and, as the 15 or so people in the theater watching with me last Friday agreed, that she's already surpassed last fall's "Glitter" and avoided a Mariah Carey-esque doom.
Spears plays Lucy, the class brain who makes the uncharacteristically rash decision to go on a road trip with two girls to whom she hasn't been close since grade school. Fortunately, her companions also fit into Breakfast Club cookie cutters: Mimi (the bad girl) wants to escape small town life and audition for a record deal, while Kit (the prom queen) just wants to visit her fiancee at his LA college.
In addition to the conspicuous absence of Emilio Estevez, however, "Crossroads" approaches the teensploitation genre in a novel way, and should be given credit for the difficult reality each character struggles with. Mimi is 5 months pregnant due to questionable circumstances, Kit's fiancee proves himself hardly a fraction of the prince charming she believes him to be and Lucy learns the hard way after 3,000 miles why her mother was never a part of her life. Road trip and teenybopper cliches abound; the cheap motels, the ruggedly mysterious love interest, the waffle house stops and the night of drunken self-disclosure are all present.
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COURTESY PHOTO - Paramount
Ben (Anson Mount) plays some sweet music for Lucy (Britney Spears). Lucy travels with her two childhood friends Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning) in search of themselves and their dreams.
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To their credit, while the writers had to script a scene where Lucy's karaoke talents pay for car repairs and trip expenses (Aerosmith called, they want their video concept back) the scenario isn't so unbelievable that it hurts the movie (see: Mandy Moore singing in "The Princess Diaries"). Setting over half the movie in a convertible on the highway also opens the door for several Britney mini-showcases, as the girls sing along to Sheryl Crow, Shania Twain and ‹to the exhilaration of pop music fans everywhere‹ N'Sync.
Is Britney Spears believable as the naive and caring Lucy? Yes. Do the cast and script compliment her fame and talents well? Yes. Would the movie have made it to production without her in the leading role? Signs point to no.
All the same, Britney fans everywhere are going to be delighted, and skeptics will have to admit to themselves that "Crossroads" was not as repulsive as they might as hoped. At the very least, all of the gratuitous ab/cleavage shots will inspire an amazing drinking game as soon as the movie hits VHS.
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