Amazon.co.uk Review
When a pop singer at the height of her career appears in a film there's never going to be any doubt who the star is, and Crossroads makes sure the audience doesn't forget it. Britney Spears is Lucy, who, along with her friends Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning), buries a time capsule to be opened upon their high-school graduation. They all grow apart because of their different backgrounds, but reunite after the prom and bizarrely decide to embark on a road trip to Los Angeles for various reasons. Enter Enrique Iglesias look-alike, the lovable rogue Ben (Anson Mount), who kindly drives them all the way cross country. Throw in car trouble, singing for money and Britney falling in love and that's the journey over with. By the time they get to LA it gets even more predictable and ends with Britney singing "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" at the audition for Slide Records, winning the respect of her father (played by Dan Aykroyd) and gaining the love of Ben.
Spears performance and that of her costars is perfect for the nature of the film--an homage to 80s flicks about teen angst--which even begins with Lucy dancing round her 80s-themed bedroom singing along to an old Madonna record. Spears' Lucy is a resourceful gal who saves the day every time, whether they need a mechanic, an accountant, a driver, a lead singer, or just a shoulder to cry on. She writes poetry, too. Is there anything Britney Spears can't do?
On the DVD: Crossroads the DVD comes with an impressive list of interactive features, including a "Pop-Up Britney" where her head bursts through the screen and describes how she felt filming the current scene. There are TV adverts; a cinematic trailer and a teaser trailer (overkill); deleted scenes and outtakes; plus two music videos ("I'm Not a Girl" and an alternate Darkchild mix and video for "Overprotected"). Things to watch in awe and bewilderment are "How to make a T-shirt like Britney", which means cutting the sleeves and bottom half off, and "Edit your own music video", where you get a choice of three scenes from "Not a Girl" to put in any order you want. --David Trueman
Customer Reviews:
You already know.........2008-02-01
As stated above, you already know if you are going to like this film or not. In my case not. I simply do not want to accept that after the 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' music video she believes her audience is young girls... talk about over-sexualisation and exploitation. Anyway- the film. I found that it gave out the wrong messages to begin with; the idea that you have to have sex to be a 'someone' in school. I thought then Britney was going to find true love... but she just sleeps with some guy she went on a roadtrip with. Fair enough they seemed to 'love' each other, but it just went back to the idea of 'you have to have sex to be cool' template and rushed their relationship alltogether. Also, it is very very sickly. Bubbly pink and retchingly predictable. The main thing for me was that each scene seemed to have a point that needed to come across, obviously, but it was the rushed nature of how they were presented that got me. If you pop to the toilet for 5mins, chances are you will miss something big because progression is done at break-neck pace. Similarly, the characters are backwards and forwards... friends, not friends, able to punch to resorting to a cat-fight.... it doesn't really make sense. However, I couldn't bring myself to give this one star... simply because I never give films one star... there is always something to salvage. In the case of this film, it kept my girlfriend happy. To be fair, it's not aimed at me (an adult male incase you couldn't tell)... and as much as I would say to anyone and everyone... IT'S AWFUL DON'T WATCH IT... you probably will, and you'll probably like it too.
I Love Rock n Roll.......2007-12-20
I absolutely adore this film. It is pure teenage cheese, romance and girly fun. Me and my best friend actually went to the cinema to see it and couldn't stop laughing and singing the songs for the rest of the night. Later at a club we even asked the DJ to play Britney!!!
As for Britney being the main star, while this maybe true it is possible to see the potential of Taryn Manning and Zoe Saldana. I am actually a huge fan of Taryn's music. Any other fans check out her band BoomKat, the song CrazyLove is featured in this movie as well as other amazing acts such as Bowling For Soup.
My all time favourite moment of this film is when the girls do karaoke and Mimi chickens out of lead vocals leaving Brit to take the mic. She belts out Joan Jett's I Love Rock n Roll and you feel like it really is a bunch of friends having a laugh at karaoke.
All the extras, while cheesey, keep the good time vibe alive. The remixed overprotected is an ace remix. Love it.
I would recommend this film to all Britney fans and hope you enjoy it as much as me. Keep rockin'
Not as bad as you might think, especially for the pre-teens.......2007-03-01
Britney plays prim and sensible girl Lucy in this one. After graduating high school, she sets off in a car with two girlfriends (and an appropriately 'hunky' guy) on a cross country trip to Los Angeles. Along the way, there is much squabbling, karaoke, and bonding; and these girls deal with their issues while Britney gets to visit her estranged mother. It's a kind of teen version of Thelma & Louise, but without the nastier aspects of that one.
Ms Spears is unlikely to win any oscars, but I don't think she embarrasses herself, either. It's not a bad performance, and she's well supported by Zoe Saldana, Taryn Manning, and Anson Mount as her traveling companions. Dan Aykroyd is also in this one as Britney's dad.
Pardon me for over-analysing, but Crossroads is a perfect encapsulation of Britney Spears's dual appeal. The film is a fluffy, light, somewhat insubstantial affair that is clearly aimed at pre-teen girls, but there are enough shots of Britney in skimpy outfits to ensure that the 'other' demographic (you know, us older guys who should really know better) will go away without too much complaining.
I couldn't find it in me to hate this one the way I thought I might. This film is designed for guys like me in the same way that Hello Kitty backpacks are, which is to say that it is not. I have no experience of being a pre-teen girl, but I imagine if I was such a thing I would enjoy this quite a bit. It's capably written and directed, and there are a few funny moments, so it's not the disaster many people have claimed.
Different/very fun!.......2007-02-07
I watched this a few years ago and saying i'm not a Britney fan as such, i am very surprised how much i enjoyed this. Then again you really dont need to be a fan of any of these actresses to enjoy this. Britney spears is great in the movie however, along with two other actresses which made this movie superb. I guess people would say its chick flick like, great especially for women, not so much men but its well worth watching!
what?.......2007-01-31
years, ago, i gave this to my six year old daughter. we put it on and watched in horror. its not a pg, it should be a 12! we turned it off immediately and threw it away, with my daughters absolute approval. dont even.
Amazon.co.uk Review
When a pop singer at the height of her career appears in a film there's never going to be any doubt who the star is, and Crossroads makes sure the audience doesn't forget it. Britney Spears is Lucy, who, along with her friends Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning), buries a time capsule to be opened upon their high-school graduation. They all grow apart because of their different backgrounds, but reunite after the prom and bizarrely decide to embark on a road trip to Los Angeles for various reasons. Enter Enrique Iglesias look-alike, the lovable rogue Ben (Anson Mount), who kindly drives them all the way cross country. Throw in car trouble, singing for money and Britney falling in love and that's the journey over with. By the time they get to LA it gets even more predictable and ends with Britney singing "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" at the audition for Slide Records, winning the respect of her father (played by Dan Aykroyd) and gaining the love of Ben.
Spears performance and that of her costars is perfect for the nature of the film--an homage to 80s flicks about teen angst--which even begins with Lucy dancing round her 80s-themed bedroom singing along to an old Madonna record. Spears' Lucy is a resourceful gal who saves the day every time, whether they need a mechanic, an accountant, a driver, a lead singer, or just a shoulder to cry on. She writes poetry, too. Is there anything Britney Spears can't do?
On the DVD: Crossroads the DVD comes with an impressive list of interactive features, including a "Pop-Up Britney" where her head bursts through the screen and describes how she felt filming the current scene. There are TV adverts; a cinematic trailer and a teaser trailer (overkill); deleted scenes and outtakes; plus two music videos ("I'm Not a Girl" and an alternate Darkchild mix and video for "Overprotected"). Things to watch in awe and bewilderment are "How to make a T-shirt like Britney", which means cutting the sleeves and bottom half off, and "Edit your own music video", where you get a choice of three scenes from "Not a Girl" to put in any order you want. --David Trueman
Customer Reviews:
You already know.........2008-02-01
As stated above, you already know if you are going to like this film or not. In my case not. I simply do not want to accept that after the 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' music video she believes her audience is young girls... talk about over-sexualisation and exploitation. Anyway- the film. I found that it gave out the wrong messages to begin with; the idea that you have to have sex to be a 'someone' in school. I thought then Britney was going to find true love... but she just sleeps with some guy she went on a roadtrip with. Fair enough they seemed to 'love' each other, but it just went back to the idea of 'you have to have sex to be cool' template and rushed their relationship alltogether. Also, it is very very sickly. Bubbly pink and retchingly predictable. The main thing for me was that each scene seemed to have a point that needed to come across, obviously, but it was the rushed nature of how they were presented that got me. If you pop to the toilet for 5mins, chances are you will miss something big because progression is done at break-neck pace. Similarly, the characters are backwards and forwards... friends, not friends, able to punch to resorting to a cat-fight.... it doesn't really make sense. However, I couldn't bring myself to give this one star... simply because I never give films one star... there is always something to salvage. In the case of this film, it kept my girlfriend happy. To be fair, it's not aimed at me (an adult male incase you couldn't tell)... and as much as I would say to anyone and everyone... IT'S AWFUL DON'T WATCH IT... you probably will, and you'll probably like it too.
I Love Rock n Roll.......2007-12-20
I absolutely adore this film. It is pure teenage cheese, romance and girly fun. Me and my best friend actually went to the cinema to see it and couldn't stop laughing and singing the songs for the rest of the night. Later at a club we even asked the DJ to play Britney!!!
As for Britney being the main star, while this maybe true it is possible to see the potential of Taryn Manning and Zoe Saldana. I am actually a huge fan of Taryn's music. Any other fans check out her band BoomKat, the song CrazyLove is featured in this movie as well as other amazing acts such as Bowling For Soup.
My all time favourite moment of this film is when the girls do karaoke and Mimi chickens out of lead vocals leaving Brit to take the mic. She belts out Joan Jett's I Love Rock n Roll and you feel like it really is a bunch of friends having a laugh at karaoke.
All the extras, while cheesey, keep the good time vibe alive. The remixed overprotected is an ace remix. Love it.
I would recommend this film to all Britney fans and hope you enjoy it as much as me. Keep rockin'
Not as bad as you might think, especially for the pre-teens.......2007-03-01
Britney plays prim and sensible girl Lucy in this one. After graduating high school, she sets off in a car with two girlfriends (and an appropriately 'hunky' guy) on a cross country trip to Los Angeles. Along the way, there is much squabbling, karaoke, and bonding; and these girls deal with their issues while Britney gets to visit her estranged mother. It's a kind of teen version of Thelma & Louise, but without the nastier aspects of that one.
Ms Spears is unlikely to win any oscars, but I don't think she embarrasses herself, either. It's not a bad performance, and she's well supported by Zoe Saldana, Taryn Manning, and Anson Mount as her traveling companions. Dan Aykroyd is also in this one as Britney's dad.
Pardon me for over-analysing, but Crossroads is a perfect encapsulation of Britney Spears's dual appeal. The film is a fluffy, light, somewhat insubstantial affair that is clearly aimed at pre-teen girls, but there are enough shots of Britney in skimpy outfits to ensure that the 'other' demographic (you know, us older guys who should really know better) will go away without too much complaining.
I couldn't find it in me to hate this one the way I thought I might. This film is designed for guys like me in the same way that Hello Kitty backpacks are, which is to say that it is not. I have no experience of being a pre-teen girl, but I imagine if I was such a thing I would enjoy this quite a bit. It's capably written and directed, and there are a few funny moments, so it's not the disaster many people have claimed.
Different/very fun!.......2007-02-07
I watched this a few years ago and saying i'm not a Britney fan as such, i am very surprised how much i enjoyed this. Then again you really dont need to be a fan of any of these actresses to enjoy this. Britney spears is great in the movie however, along with two other actresses which made this movie superb. I guess people would say its chick flick like, great especially for women, not so much men but its well worth watching!
what?.......2007-01-31
years, ago, i gave this to my six year old daughter. we put it on and watched in horror. its not a pg, it should be a 12! we turned it off immediately and threw it away, with my daughters absolute approval. dont even.
UK DVD:
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- Dave Spikey - The Live Collection - The Overnight Success Tour/Living The Dream - Live
- Doctor Dolittle 3 [2006]
- Doctor In Charge - Series 1 - Complete
- Dogfight [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Dogma [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Donald Sinden Icon Collection
- Dysfunktional Family [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Foyle's War - Bleak Midwinter / Casualties of War [2007]
- Frank Zappa - Does Humour Belong In Music ? [1984]
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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Britney & Kevin: Chaotic... The DVD & More
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