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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2002
Britney on the big screen?
You never know what will happen when pop singers try to act in movies. Could be as sublime as Bette Midler in The Rose, but more likely as ridiculous as Mariah Carey in last year's Glitter. So excuse us if Britney Spears' movie debut in Crossroads (PG-13) doesn't exactly sound like must-see entertainment. Britney is required to display more range than in her Pepsi commercials to play an honor roll student road-tripping with two classmates, a cheerleader (Zoe Saldana) and a slacker (Taryn Manning). The buzz is that Britney's character loses her virginity in the movie, although the star insists she's the last chaste person in show biz over the age of 18. Now, that would be a good idea for a movie. Sex and the City co-star Kim Cattrall is a smart choice to play Britney's mother, but do you really think Dan Aykroyd's gene pool is pretty enough for him to be her father? Crossroads was screened too late for Weekend. See Friday's Floridian section for a review.
The backwoods of Vermont aren't exactly a hotbed of crime, so the state police officers in Super Troopers (R) don't have much to occupy their time except pulling pranks such as playing mind games on pot-heads and taking impounded vehicles for joyrides. Then the discovery of a drug smuggling ring in their midst brings out their best professional instincts. That's the premise behind the first film developed by the Los Angeles-New York underground comedy troupe Broken Lizard, led by director and co-writer Jay Chandrasekhar. Super Troopers hardly seems like the kind of movie that charms film festival crowds, but that's what happened during midnight showings last year in Austin and recently in competition at Sundance. The movie wasn't screened in time for Weekend review. Veteran character actor Brian Cox (L.I.E.) is the only recognizable face in the cast, unless you count a cameo by Lynda Carter (yes, Wonder Woman) as the governor. Honk if you love Police Academy.