AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn b. saw Britney's new road trip movie. Here are her thoughts on....

Paramount Pictures

Inside info: The first time Britney Spears' character Lucy steps up to a piano and sings a shaky line or two of her single "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", is actually the first time Britney ever attempted to sing the song! According to the film's producers, the music and Dido lyrics were put together at the last minute so Britney had to "wing" it. What results is a more believable scene.

Childhood pals Lucy (Britney Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning) have drifted apart. Lucy is brilliant and, at her dad (Dan Aykroyd's) insistence, she's supposed to enter medical school. Zoe is the most popular girl in school and a homecoming queen. Mimi has had a rough life and is pregnant. They are now graduating from high school and as agreed, reluctantly meet in a park to dig up a boxof remembrances the three buried as little girls eight years before.

Mimi tells her pals that she's off to L.A. to enter a recording contest and asks her old friends along. Lucy is onboard hoping for a reunion in Arizona with her mom who abandoned her as a child. Zoe wants to check on her fiancé who is at school. The driver is a cute, mysterious fellow named Ben (Anson Mount) who becomes attracted to Lucy. As the trip progresses, dreams and goals unravel and change and lives will never be the same.

Is Crossroads as bad as Glitter? No. It's a much more simple story and the music is actually logically woven into the plot. Britney won't win any acting awards but this is her first try and she's charming enough for us to root for. Of course, once her character decides to pursue her preferred musical career, Britney's a lot easier to believe than as a valedictorian/nerd headed for medical school. Taryn Manning, who was Kirsten Dunst's wild buddy in Crazy/Beautiful is great as a pregnant teen who is still determined to follow a dream. Zoe Saldana (Get Over It) is appropriately snooty as the most popular girl in school. As the older guy Lucy falls for, newcomer Anson Mount is pretty hot although he seems a LOT older in comparison to the girls. T.V's Kim Cattrall is in a great scene as Britney's socially affluent mom. We wish she had more to do in the film.

Crossroads is fluffy and lightweight in order to keep a PG-13 rating so important issues are examined at a pretty superficial level (pregnancy, assault, parental abandonment, the "first" time, etc.). An evil twist that involves Mimi's pregnancy doesn't get the depth it would in an R-rated format but then many of Britney's younger fans wouldn't be allowed to go to the film. There are some sappy scenes between Lucy and her dad who too easily backs off when she tosses in medical school for a rock career. I had a problem with a contrived development that involves Mimi giving up her dream to be a lead singer after freezing just once on stage. You guessed it. Britney/Lucy jumps up to save the day and ends up as lead singer thus, in my mind, stealing her good friend's dream!

There are some cute moments and little in-joke nods (the girls sing an N-Sync song on the road and Britney makes that cross-eyed, tongue-sticking-out face she does on the Pepsi commercials). I enjoyed a karaoke scene in which the girls sing "I Love Rock n Roll" and, although contrived, Britney and friends' moments on stage are fun to watch. Don't leave too early or you'll miss Britney singing "Overprotected" under the end credits which consist of tame outtakes.

If you are a young, rabid Britney fan, you'll love the film. If you are older, you'll still get a kick out of the road trip story. If you can't stand Britney, you wouldn't be going anyway. Crossroads is surprisingly...okay. And it's cool that it's directed and written and produced by WOMEN!

I give the film 3 out of 5 stars.

Rated PG-13
Official website: www.crossroadsmovie.com

Directed by: Tamra Davis
Screenplay by: Shonda Rhimes
Starring:
Britney Spears as Lucy
Taryn Manning as Mimi
Zoe Saldana as Kit
Anson Mount as Ben
Dan Aykroyd as dad
Kim Cattrall as mom