Crossroads
Alright, this is an easy target of a film to say the least. Most critics would pat me on the back for killing this film with a vague array of clever insults, but I'd rather be the "big man" persay, and try something different.
Throughout watching this film, I was always aware of the fact that this movie was predictable, stilted, and a vehicle. The last one comes from the senses argument: If it looks like a vehicle, and sounds like a vehicle, and britney spears is in it... it's a vehicle. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with vehicles, and there is nothing inherently wrong with this film. It just feels like it's an unoffensive pile of happy mush.
Here's the obligatory summary. Lucy (Britney Spears) is a geek who's never been laid and has a strict dad and missing mom. Two other girls have problems too. And there's this guy, who's cute, and misunderstood, and going to california. Woopie, and all these girls can solve their problems by driving towards california. That, my friends, is a "coincidence", as they say. So, they pile into a convertible and truck it. Along the way they find laughter, and pain, and more laughter, and more pain. As I said, it's pretty predictable, you won't need me to explain much after you've watched the first few minutes.
So where does one begin on a movie like this? How about the production value. Everyone always looks nice, lucy always has good hair, the cinematography is nice, and so is most of that aspect. It's a workmanlike product, but overall the editing moves things along quick enough so that the syrup isn't too dense to breath at any given time.
Then there's the big question on noone's mind... And the answer is no, britney isn't a horrible actress. Truthfully (and sadly), the Bad Acting award goes to a veteran actor, Dan Aykroyd. Maybe he just knew the real caliber of the movie, and fell back onto his high school acting days. Really, he's more annoying than that song they keep playing over and over. And I don't blame it completely on him, his dialogue is horrible, and I'm sure the director left him alone because he was a "big" actor in a fairly "little" movie. Whatever the reasons, I was happy he was only in it for a little while.
Back to britney. Sure, she doesn't have a lot of depth to her performance, and the dialogue sucks, but for her part, she doesn't dip below the movie as a whole. She is a bit player in the grander steam of this generic-wagon. She's every bit the cliche that the director wanted her to be, I'd say. And, though I won't go into the implausibility of the situation any more than I have to, her relationship with Henry (Justin Long) is laughable at best. Sure, I think Mr Long has a good future as the geek-of-all-geeks, and he actually makes me laugh, they just don't go together. If you want a funny sidenote, it seems that geeks suddenly have rock hard abs and great figures. Sheesh, noone told me.
Didn't I say this wasn't going to be a mean review? Well, as with most every movie these days, it has been processed and processed, and it is a cute movie at best. Some people will like it, most people will throw large amounts of popcorn at the screen every time britney opens her mouth to sing (which is often). In the end, perhaps, this movie is vicerably, and marketably about one thing: britney is a performer whose talent is looking cute and singing. This movie spends a large amount of time dwelling on these things like they're something new. And, that in itself is not a fault, so I will give them some credit. They made a movie that is a good time-waster for the ten-year-old girl in you, or the twenty-year-old guy in you.
Strangely, though, this movie is most probably aimed at both groups, but I'm almost sure that the latter will get the most enjoyment. As before, one of britney's talents is looking cute, and she delivers here. The opening number lays out the whole movie: there's a hot girl in underwear singing on a bed. I don't think the movie ever left that point. So if you aren't purturbed by the predictability of it all, then be my guest, give it a watch. No harm, no foul. This movie doesn't kill you, even if it does consist of more cliche's than a backstreet boys video.
For a simple scale, I give it 2 and 1/2 out of 4.
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