Crossroads

It's not the least bit surprising that Britney Spears spends half of her acting debut half naked (teeny-weenie undies here, a towel there, countless tummy-tops). What is surprising is that, as transparently plotted teenage road trip flicks go, Crossroads turns out to be very entertaining. Britney and two girlfriends bounce through standard issue conflicts (one meets her heart-of-ice mother, one breaks up with a cheating fiancé, the third is knocked up), but the connect-the-dots story is balanced out by fun-loving performances, unaffected earnestness and well-written, consistently amusing banter--much of it between Spears and Anson Mount, as the scruffy, handsome college boy who provides the car for the trip. Director Tamra Davis never really takes her nose out of the Filmmaking 101 textbook, but the movie is genuinely cheerful and driven by characters who are hard to dislike (try as you might). A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include nearly 12 minutes of deleted scenes and outtakes with on-camera intros by director Tamra Davis; commentary by Davis, producer Ann Carli, and writer Shonda Rhimes; Britney Spears' music videos "Overprotected" and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"; sing-along features for the videos; a brief DVD welcome from Spears; an "Edit Your Own Music Video" feature; a chance to view Spears' personal memories of filming with "Break Through Britney"; a photo gallery; and a trio of featurettes: a 25-minute making-of "40 Days With Britney"; the 12-minute "Taryn's T-Shirts" where viewers can make shirts like those found in Crossroads; and "First in Line," a behind-the-scenes look at the Crossroads premiere. Bottom line: a fan worthy extras package for a surprisingly decent film.] (R. Blackwelder)