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Morals meet Comedy

Shamontiel L. Vaughn | Chicago | 09/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cons: In the beginning of the movie, the plot seemed predictable and some of the dialogue didn't roll off the tongues of the actors very well. Anthony Mackie sounded a little too grown to be saying some of the slang he was saying, or maybe I just wasn't convinced that he was someone who came from jail. I was slightly weary of the two main characters being friends, because the beginning didn't give me a feeling that they connected. That is, until the cash register scene when math came into play. I was honestly wondering for the first 20 minutes whether I'd wasted my money.

Pros: Wesley Jonathan and Lil JJ are some fools! I went to see this movie with a big audience who had a sense of humor, so all of us spent half the movie laughing at those two cracking jokes. I'm still giggling about Wesley Jonathan's "We go together" comment and Lil JJ's comment on "housesitting." For such a serious theme, those two were the perfect ones to bring comedy to the movie. On a superficial note, I think Wesley Jonathan's hair looks GORGEOUS in braids.
This movie touched on a lot of not-so-popular topics like the embarassment of not finishing high school, the struggle of getting a GED, how street codes and friendship can clash, golddiggers, real love vs. temporary lust, sports agency greed, and crooked cops. The guy who played the arrogant famous ball player did so very well. After I got more into the movie, I enjoyed Anthony Mackie's character and Wayne Brady's character as well. The climax scene in L.A. opened my eyes to a lot of things that made this movie not the typical sports movie and the ending was fabulous. I respected what the writers did with this one quite a bit, and the flying money scene was clever. Obviously by the time the movie was over, I realized that my money was well spent on a movie I'm surprised hit the show considering it went against the grain of the typical Hollywood stereotypes."

SO BAD IT'S GOOD!

D. Myatt | Los Angeles, CA | 03/21/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"My kidz and I enjoyed this dreadful exercise in predictability and bad acting for all the wrong reasons: We playfully wagered on what actors would say next (and I use that word "actors" very loosely). It's full of cliches of all kinds. We would rewind and laugh at the scenes containing Eva Pigford's unbelievably horrid acting (please, for God's sake, stick to simply being a model!). We'd pretend to be menaced and afraid by appearances of that definitive "hood" slickster, aka Wayne Brady ("New Jack City's" Nino Brown has got nothing on him!!!). And we were amused at how surprisingly weak the basketball scenes were. The on-the-court scenes contained lots of edits and cut-aways that marked staged shots. And for a movie about b'ball, the court scenes were extremely minimal and unexciting. On a serious note, please observe this theory of mine if you rent this film (for God's sake don't buy it): Sometimes, being surrounded by bad actors and faced with a bad script can even make a good actor bad. Case in point, Anthony Mackie. He's clearly got skills, but he had no business being in this foul of a film! This movie surely falls under the "So bad it's good" banner. If you rent it expecting anything else, you will surely be disappointed."

Crossover should have had a line drawn across it.

Jenny J.J.I. | That Lives in Carolinas | 03/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've watched a lot of street ball but I never played "street ball", so I could be totally off base with some of my comments, but I'm pretty sure there is not a huge gambling ring which focuses on this sport. In Crossover, the underground street ball games take place in an abandoned train station, where fouls and show stopping are not only allowed, it's encouraged. These "secret games" have a somewhat decent crowd of spectators, which includes a full cheerleading squad and a DJ who spins records in between plays.

It's actually quite a shame that a good movie has not been made on the subject of underground street basketball. At least not in the last 10 years, as Ron Shelton's 1992 film "White Men Can't Jump" may be the only exception. This is one of those predictable movies where you can spot the payoffs before the script even plants the set up. Noah Cruise (played by Wesley Jonathan) is a hard working student who is banking on a basketball scholarship so that he can study medicine in college. But he's sucked into playing in the underground league by his best friend Tech (played by Anthony Mackie), who he somehow owes big time. If Cruise is caught playing for such a league, he could loose his college scholarship. Wayne Brady plays a former NBA agent named Vaughn, the rebel ruler of the underground street ball circuit. He tries his best to put on his "serious face" but it just comes off as laughable. Brady might be good at the improve stuff, a script must feel like imprisonment. At least that's how it comes off. Vaughn wants Cruise on his roster, but the kid has other plans. Cruise and Tech become involved with two young ladies who work at the mall. Young love blossoms and news of Cruise's involvement with the underground sport leaks to the press and so forth.

The written dialogue in this film wasn't so great as well as some of the performances. Eva Pigford, for example, plays one of the girlfriends and unfortunately shows no acting ability or formal training even though she's a great model; but Little JJ, who plays Up, is may be the only likable character/actor in the whole movie. This kid has charisma, and will have a long career if he can ever rise above. If anything, Crossover does offer a good message to youths: Education should be valued over the big money dreams of a sports career. However, I'm not sure this film does a good job delivering the message.
"

Streetball, Underground Money, Dreams, and Resolutions

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 02/24/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"CROSSOVER has style. Writer/director Preston A. Whitmore II makes up in visual technique and pacing what he lacks in a somewhat tired script, and simply sitting back and watching the movement for this viewer makes the movie worthwhile.

The story details the mechanisms of the underground betting on streetball in Detroit - basketball teams that that serve as betting pawns for promoters. Caught up in the flashy court skills are two close friends - Tech (Anthony Mackie), who has a crime record and dreams of plying pro-ball for the NBA, and Noah Cruise (the very fine and hunky Wesley Jonathan) whose goal is to use his streetball earnings to enter college and medical school. The friends' big rival team is headed by Jewelz (actual ball player Phillip "Hot Sauce" Champion) and the betting setups between these two rival teams strikes the flame for the action that follows. Of course there is the requisite romantic interest (both for good and bad) brought to play by fine actors Alecia Jai Fears, Shelli Boone and Eva Pigford and in the end the story is more about friendship and trust and commitment than it is about winning.

Whitmore elects to cut and splice his shots of the games like a DJ on a record spin and that aspect of the film is fascinating and creative. He also capitalizes on a fine chemistry that Anthony Mackie and Wesley Johnson generate. The plot is predictable and the story has been done before, but in the end the film satisfies because of the way it plays - and because of the choreography on the court! Grady Harp, February 07"