Crossroads (2002)
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Three teenage friends embark on a cross-country road trip to fulfill childhood wishes and navigate the complexities of adulthood.
The story
Growing up in a small Georgia town, three friends—Lucy, Kit, and Mimi—bury a 'wish box' and vow to dig it up on their high school graduation night. As they reach adulthood, their lives have diverged: Lucy is an introverted valedictorian, Kit is the popular girl, and Mimi is an outcast facing teenage pregnancy. On graduation night, they reunite to dig up the box and remember their old wishes. Despite their different paths, they decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles to pursue their individual dreams, seeking to rediscover their bond along the way.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Growing up in a small Georgia town, friends Lucy, Kit, and Mimi bury a 'wish box' and vow to dig it up on graduation night. By the time they reach high school graduation, their lives have diverged: Lucy is a studious valedictorian, Kit is popular, and Mimi is a pregnant outcast. They reunite to dig up the box, remembering their wishes: Kit wants marriage, Lucy wants to find her abandoned mother, and Mimi wants to go to California. They set off in a 1972 Buick Skylark. During the trip, they encounter various obstacles, including a car breakdown in Louisiana where Lucy performs karaoke to earn money. They eventually confront a friend, Ben, about a rumor of him going to jail, discovering he was actually protecting his stepsister. Lucy and Ben fall in love. In Tucson, Lucy finds her mother, Caroline, who rejects her. Upon reaching Los Angeles, Kit discovers her fiancé Dylan is cheating and that he raped Mimi; Mimi loses her baby in the fall. Lucy eventually realizes she has lived only to please her father. She chooses to stay with her friends, and they perform together at an audition, receiving a standing ovation. They re-bury the wish box on a beach, choosing to focus on the present.
- Original title
- What Friends Are For
- First release year
- 2002
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tamra Davis
- Writers
- Shonda Rhimes · screenplay; Britney Spears · story
- Cast and characters
- Britney Spears · Lucy; Anson Mount · Ben; Zoe Saldaña · Mimi; Taryn Manning · Kit; Kim Cattrall · Caroline; Dan Aykroyd · Pete
- Genres
- teen road comedy-drama; coming-of-age
- Themes
- female friendship; empowerment; coming-of-age; self-discovery
- Tone and mood
- sincere; natural; endearing
- Premise and plot tags
- road trip; buddy comedy; coming-of-age; pregnancy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Concept created by Britney Spears
- Content notes
- rape
- Reception
- The film received unfavorable reviews from critics and was considered a 'vanity project,' but it has been reassessed more favorably in recent years as a 'lost classic' that highlights themes of friendship and empowerment.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 15% · review count: 103; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A to F
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled 'What Friends Are For'.; The film was acquired by Sony Music Entertainment as part of a promotional campaign for Spears' memoir 'The Woman in Me'.; The film was originally intended to include a scene where Lucy takes out a box of condoms, but it was removed for length.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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