Good news for the Britney Army, nostalgia lovers, and OG Shonda fans: Crossroads, the seminal coming-of-age flick about a trio of young women and their journey to adulthood, is now on Netflix.
“What’s the big deal?” you might ask. “Don’t movies come to Netflix all the time?”
True, but this arrival isn’t just any standard Netflix drop — it’s momentous for a few reasons. Allow us to school you! First of all, Crossroads’ move to Netflix marks the end of a longtime drought for fans of the movie; up until now, it’s only been available on DVD and other physical media, meaning people who wanted to see one of Spears’ first forays into acting had to resort to extreme, some might say even obsolete, measures … like finding a DVD player and plugging it into a wall.
Also, this specific date is special: Crossroads debuted in theaters on this very day (February 15) back in 2002. Of course, Crossroads was rereleased in 2023 as part of the Britney-ssance when her memoir hit shelves, but up until now Crossroads existed only in memory and on DVD and VHS. Now everyone with a Netflix account can relive it or see it for the first time. Starring Spears as the determined but sheltered singer Lucy, Taryn Manning as the tough-as-nails Mimi, and Zoe Saldaña as the mean but secretly sensitive girl Kit, Crossroads, said Shonda Rhimes last year, is about capturing innocence and self-discovery — a process that not only led to box office success but also came to guide Rhimes on her journey of becoming a Hollywood titan.
“We were three girls,” she said of herself, producer Ann Carli, and director Tamra Davis, “making a movie about three girls. I spent time with Britney, figuring out how to write for her. That’s what I do now: I always write for the actor.”
The film’s rerelease might also give the busy mega-mogul an opportunity to see it again herself. “I haven’t seen that movie in 20 years,” Rhimes said. “I’m dying to watch it again. I still have my signed Crossroads poster.”
Stream Crossroads now on Netflix.
Malcolm Venable is a Senior Staff Writer at Shondaland. Follow him on Twitter @malcolmvenable.
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