Crossroads (2002 film)

Crossroads is a 2002 American teen drama road film set in Georgia. Directed by Tamra Davis and written by Shonda Rhimes, the film stars Britney Spears, Anson Mount, Zoe Saldana, Taryn Manning, Kim Cattrall, and Dan Aykroyd. The film was produced by MTV Films and released on February 15, 2002, in North America by Paramount Pictures. The plot centers on three teenage girls as they take a cross-country road trip, finding themselves and their friendship in the process.

For other uses, see Crossroads (disambiguation).

Crossroads
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTamra Davis
Produced byAnn Carli
Written byShonda Rhimes
Starring
Music byTrevor Jones
CinematographyEric Alan Edwards
Edited byMelissa Kent
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • February 15, 2002 (2002-02-15)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[1]
Box office$61.1 million (87,462,000 in 2019 USD)[1]

Development on the film began in 2001, when Spears created a concept that was later expanded by Rhimes. Principal filming began in March 2001, and encompassed over a period of six months. Crossroads received negative reviews from film critics; however, they considered it a better effort when compared to Mariah Carey's 2001 film Glitter. Despite the movie's negative response from critics, it was a box office success, grossing over $61.1 million worldwide in three months.

Plot

As children growing up in a small Georgia town, Lucy (Spears), Kit (Saldana), and Mimi (Manning) bury a "wish box" and vow to dig it up on the night of their high school graduation. However, as the trio grows up, their friendship fades: Lucy becomes the introverted valedictorian, Kit becomes the most popular girl in school, and Mimi becomes an outcast from the trailer park facing teenage pregnancy.

On the night of graduation, they reunite to dig up the "wish box", remembering their old wishes: Kit wanted to get married, Lucy wanted to find her mother who abandoned her, and Mimi wanted to travel to California. Lucy and Kit try to convince Mimi, who is five months pregnant, not to go to Los Angeles to audition for a record company. However, they all go to Los Angeles the next morning: Mimi for the audition, Kit to visit her fiancé, and Lucy to find her mother in Tucson, Arizona.

Unbeknownst to her overbearing father Pete (Aykroyd), Lucy, Kit, and Mimi depart in a yellow 1973 Buick Skylark convertible with Ben (Mount). During the trip, the car breaks down in Louisiana and, with little money, Mimi suggests that they sing karaoke at a New Orleans bar for tips. At the bar, Mimi develops stage fright and is unable to sing. Lucy takes her place and is a hit, and the girls earn enough money to fix the car and continue on their way.

While staying at a motel in Alabama, Kit tells Lucy and Mimi that she heard a rumor about Ben going to jail for killing a man. Uneasy for most of the trip, the girls finally confront Ben about the rumor, who reveals that he actually went to jail for driving his stepsister across state lines without parental consent because his stepfather was abusing her. Lucy and Ben fall in love with each other, and the girls have their first honest conversation since they were children: Lucy reveals that her mother left her and her father when she was three years old, but believes that her mother wants to see her again; Kit, who was overweight as a child, reveals that her mother sent her to "fat camp" every summer until she reached her goal weight, but now hates that Kit is more beautiful than she is; Mimi reveals that her baby's father is not her ex-boyfriend Kurt, but a man who raped her at a party, and that she is planning to put her baby up for adoption.

In Tucson, Lucy finds her mother Caroline (Cattrall), who has remarried with two young sons, and is unhappy to see her. Caroline reveals that Lucy was an unintended pregnancy and that she wants nothing to do with her, leaving Lucy heartbroken. At the motel, Ben consoles Lucy and impresses her by writing music to a poem she has written during the trip. Lucy then rejoins Kit, Mimi, and Ben, and they reach Los Angeles.

One night, Kit takes Mimi with her to surprise her fiancé Dylan. Alone together in the motel, Lucy loses her virginity to Ben. Kit and Mimi arrive at Dylan's apartment to find him cheating on Kit with another woman. She then realizes that Dylan raped Mimi, and punches him in the face. Running away, Mimi falls down the stairs and loses her baby. In the hospital, Lucy and Kit console her as she comes to terms with her loss, having decided to keep her baby once they reached Los Angeles.

Lucy calls her father to come take her, Kit, and Mimi back home, and Kit and Mimi tell her that she should go to the audition in Mimi's place. Lucy declines and prepares to leave with her father, Kit, and Mimi, but realizes that everything that she has ever done has been to please her father instead of herself. Lucy tells her father to let her go and runs to Ben, and they kiss. She, Kit, and Mimi head to the audition with Ben and receive a standing ovation after their performance of her song, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".

The girls re-bury the "wish box" at a Los Angeles beach, this time deciding not to make any wishes for the future but to focus on the present and their friendship.

Cast

Production

In early 2001, Spears said that she had plans to make her film debut.[3] She and her team then created a concept for it,[3] which was later developed by Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes.[4] Spears commented that she "talked to [Rhimes] and told her what I wanted the movie to be about and she elaborated on it. It was my little project. When you do a movie, I think you have to be really passionate about it. I was having a lot of offers, but this is something my heart was into."[4] A press conference was held during the Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale (MIDEM) in Cannes, France, on January 19, 2002, where Spears also premiered the film.[5]

Filming for Crossroads initiated in March 2001 in Baton Rouge and Hammond, Louisiana, near Spears' hometown.[6] Due to the fact that Spears was also recording her third studio album along with the film's production, filming only wrapped up after six months.[6] Additional scenes were filmed in Los Angeles, California.[6] Crossroads had a total budget of $10 million; a relatively low budget by industry standards.[7] According to the Louisiana Film and Video Commission, the film was originally titled What Friends are For.[7] Spears described it as a teen movie that deals with real issues that normal teenagers live on a daily basis.[8] She continued to explain the film's content, saying that it "is about this journey that the three of us best friends take, finding ourselves and what we want out of life and getting our friendship back. Friends are all you have at the end of the day. When your boyfriend breaks up with you, who do you call? Your girlfriend. I just love that message."[8]

Justin Long, who plays one of Lucy's best friends from high school, thought that Crossroads is "like a road trip buddy movie for girls."[9] Long also said that he was impressed by Spears' work ethic, commenting that "she could not have been more down to earth. She's the sweetest girl. After 10 minutes, I forgot she was a big pop star."[9] Anson Mount, who plays Ben, revealed that actor Robert De Niro ran a few of Spears' lines with him while rehearsing for the film. Mount revealed that De Niro called the singer "a sweet girl" and convinced him to do Crossroads.[10]

Release and reception

Box office

Crossroads was released in the United States on February 15, 2002. On its opening day, the film grossed an estimated $5.2 million in 2,380 theaters, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the day.[11] On the first weekend of its release, Crossroads placed second, grossing an estimate of $14,527,187.[11] By the second week, the film dropped a 52% on tickets sales, ranking at number 5 on the Box Office.[11] Crossroads was a moderate financial success, grossing a total $37,191,304 in the United States.[11] Worldwide, the film grossed a total of $61,141,030 until its close day, on May 9, 2002.[11]

Critical response

Crossroads received mostly negative reviews. The film has a 14% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 104 reviews with an average rating of 3.95/10, with the consensus: "A cliched and silly pop star vanity project, Crossroads is strictly for Britney fans only."[12] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score, gave the film a 27 out of 100 based on 31 reviews from critics.[13]

Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune said "Spears delivers a performance with the same sincerity she invests into a Pepsi commercial, only this film contains twice the sugary calories", while New York Daily News writer Elizabeth Weitzma noted, "Here's what Crossroads does not have: Cohesive direction from Tamra Davis, intelligent dialogue, a comprehensible plot".[13] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide commented that "the film's mealy-mouthed messages about feminine empowerment will almost certainly fall on deaf ears, since even 11-year-olds know Spears's power resides largely in her taut torso".[13] Claudia Puig of USA Today considered it "less a movie than a mind-numbingly dull road trip", while The Washington Post reporter Ann Hornaday said, "not a music video, not yet a movie, but more like an extended-play advertisement for the Product that is Britney".[13] Jane Dark of Village Voice compared Crossroads to Mariah Carey's Glitter, saying, "you spend a lot of time wondering, 'Better or worse than Glitter?' You think if the projectionist cranked the volume a little you could actually sort of get into this".[13]

John Anderson of Los Angeles Times commented "Spears acquits herself as well as anyone might, in a movie as contrived and lazy as this one".[13] Chris Kaltenbach of The Baltimore Sun said, "go see Crossroads if you want to hear Britney sing or see her wear next-to-nothing. But otherwise, avoid this train wreck at all costs".[13] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, however, gave the movie a positive review, commenting Crossroads "not only makes excellent use of the singer's sweetly coltish acting abilities, but it also promotes a standardized set of sturdy values with none of Mariah Carey's desperate Glitter, or any of Mandy Moore's gummy pap in A Walk to Remember".[13] Bret Fetzer of Amazon.com also gave a positive review, noting that the movie "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".[14] Jane Crowther of BBC applauded Cattrall and Aykroyd's interactions with the characters, and said that "Spears manages to come across on film as natural, endearing, and extremely likable".[15] Time named it one of the top 10 worst chick flicks.[16]

Accolades
Group Category Recipient Result
MTV Movie Awards[17] Best Female Breakthrough Performance Britney Spears Nominated
Best Dressed Britney Spears Nominated
Teen Choice Awards[18] Choice Drama Movie Actress Britney Spears Nominated
Choice Breakout Movie Actress Britney Spears Nominated
Choice Movie Chemistry Britney Spears and Anson Mount Nominated
Golden Raspberry Awards[19] Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie Crossroads Nominated
Worst Actress Britney Spears Won
Worst Director Tamra Davis Nominated
Worst Original Song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" Won
Worst Original Song "Overprotected" Nominated
Worst Picture Paramount Home Entertainment Nominated
Worst Screen Couple Britney Spears and Anson Mount Nominated
Worst Screenplay Shonda Rhimes Nominated
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards[20] Worst Actress Britney Spears Nominated
Worst Original Song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" Nominated
Worst On Screen Couple Britney Spears and Anson Mount Nominated
Worst Fake Accent – Male Dan Aykroyd Nominated

Soundtrack
Crossroads (Music from the Major Motion Picture)
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released
  • February 15, 2002 (2002-02-15)
Recorded1990–2002
GenrePop
LabelZomba
ProducerVarious artists
Singles from Crossroads (Music from the Major Motion Picture)
  1. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"
    Released: May 27, 2002

Background

Spears had initially recorded "Overprotected", "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", "Bombastic Love" and a cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" for Crossroads; the songs were later included on the singer's third studio album, Britney (2001).[8] The soundtrack album features tracks by Spears, Mystikal, Matthew Sweet, Jars of Clay and Bowling for Soup.[21] Crossroads (Music from the Major Motion Picture) was released by Zomba Records on February 2, 2002,[22] and was produced by Rodney Jerkins, The Neptunes, Fred Maher, Matthew Sweet, Dennis Herring, Jaret Reddick, Max Martin, and Rami Yacoub. "Overprotected" was remixed by JS16 for the soundtrack album.[21]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (karaoke sing-along version)Alan Merrill, Jake HookerBritney Spears3:06
2."Shake It Fast"Michael Tyler, Pharrell Williams, Chad HugoMystikal4:15
3."Girlfriend"Matthew SweetMatthew Sweet3:40
4."Unforgetful You"Jars of ClayJars of Clay3:20
5."Greatest Day"Jaret ReddickBowling for Soup3:14
6."Overprotected" (JS16 Remix)Max Martin, Rami YacoubBritney Spears6:07

Credits and personnel

Bibliography
  • Britney Spears and Felicia Culotta, Britney Spears' Crossroads diary, Scholastic Inc., 2002

References
  1. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=crossroads.htm
  2. "Crossroads, Cast, Crew, Director and Awards". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  3. Fischer, Paul. "Britney Spears, Crossroads Interview". Deal Memo. NV and Powerstorm, Inc. Archived from the original on November 25, 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  4. Moss, Corey (November 6, 2011). "Britney's heart into 'Crossroads,' outtakes from flick appear on Britney". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  5. "Britney to attend MIDEM to push film launch". Music Week. EBSCO Publishing. January 12, 2002. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  6. Spears, Britney (2002). Crossroads Diary. San Val, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-613-82249-7.
  7. Moss, Corey (March 20, 2001). "Britney Spears Begins Work On Film Debut". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  8. Infarinato, Ruth. "Britney Spears: Pop Rocks!". MTV. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  9. Moss, Corey (July 18, 2001). "Britney is that innocent – in the movies, at least". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  10. "Q&A with Britney Spears & Anson Mount at the Premiere of "Crossroads"". About.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  11. "Crossroads Daily Chart View". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. February 15, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  12. "Crossroads". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixter. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  13. "Britney Spears – Crossroads – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  14. Fetzer, Bret (July 23, 2002). "Amazon.com: Crossroads: Britney Spears: Movies & TV". Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  15. Crowther, Jane (March 28, 2002). "Crossroads (2002)". BBC. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  16. Oloffson, Kristi (May 26, 2010). "Top 10 Worst Chick Flicks - Crossroads". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  17. Snetiker, Marc (February 15, 2002). "Crossroads Tenth Anniversary". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  18. ""Pop Phenomenon" doesn't come close to describing Britney Spears". China Daily. China Daily Group. November 4, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  19. Wilson, John (February 10, 2003). "23rd Annual RAZZIE Award® Nominations". Razzie Awards. Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  20. "2002 25th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Los Angeles Times. March 16, 2003. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  21. Music from the Major Motion Picture Crossroads (liner notes). Various Artists. Zomba Records. 2002.CS1 maint: others (link)
  22. "Amazon.com: Crossroads: Britney Spears, Mystikal, Matthew Sweet, Jars of Clay, Bowling for Soup: Music". February 2, 2002. Retrieved September 17, 2011.

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