From Justin to Kelly is a 2003 American musical romantic comedy film written by Kim Fuller and directed by Robert Iscove. The film, starring Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, American Idol season 1 winner and runner-up, won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst 'Musical' of Our First 25 Years in 2005. This film is often cited among one of the worst films ever made.
Plot
The film is set during spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Texan singing waitress Kelly Taylor meets Pennsylvanian college student Justin Bell, and they fall for each other, and various romantic complications ensue. Kelly's friend Kaya falls in love with charming busboy Carlos; Kelly's other friend, Alexa, schemes to keep Justin and Kelly from meeting; Justin's friend Brandon is always getting on the wrong side of a sexy beach patrolwoman; and Justin's other friend, Eddie, tries to hook up with a cyber-pal.
Cast
Release
Some theater chains threatened not to screen the film at all when distributor 20th Century Fox announced plans to rush it to VHS and DVD a mere six weeks after its opening weekend, but Fox ultimately relented and pushed the release date back a number of months. After the opening-weekend flop, Fox reinstated the original release schedule and the film was released via home media on August 26, 2003.
Box office
In its opening weekend, From Justin to Kelly grossed $2,715,848 in 2,001 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #11 at the box office. By the end of its run on July 24, 2003, the film had grossed $4,928,883 in the domestic box office. Based on a $12 million budget, the film was a box office bomb, losing $7 million
Critical reception
The film was panned by critics and has a "rotten" score of 10% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 63 reviews with an average rating of 2.7 out of 10. The consensus states: "A notorious stinker, From Justin to Kelly features banal songs, a witless plot, and non-existent chemistry between its American Idol-sanctioned leads." The film also has a score of 14 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 16 critics indicating "overwhelming dislike". The film is ranked number 21 on the "Bottom 100" list as voted by users of the Internet Movie Database.
Entertainment Weekly film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review, "How bad is From Justin to Kelly? Set in Miami during spring break, it's like Grease: The Next Generation acted out by the food-court staff at SeaWorld."
Accolades
The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.
The choreography was considered so bad that a special Golden Raspberry "Governor's Award" was created as an excuse to present the film with a Razzie. However, the film was better received by the Teen Choice Awards, as it was nominated for two Choice Movie Breakout Stars (for Guarini and Clarkson) and Choice Chemistry.
Time Magazine described the film as "a monstrous Idol movie musical that in the most generous light is the worst film so far this century". In a later interview, Clarkson admitted she only did the film because she was contractually obligated to do so: "I knew when I read the script it was going to be real, real bad, but when I won, I signed that piece of paper, and I could not get out of it."
Total Film magazine ranked the film at number 16 in their list of 66 Worst Movies Of All Time.
Home media
When released on DVD, an extended version of 90 minutes was released as well. This extended version includes two new musical numbers "From Me to You" and "Brighter Star", additional lyrics and more sensual choreography to "Wish Upon a Star", and a scene involving a "Dare to Be Bare" contest.
Soundtrack
A commercial soundtrack with studio tracks was produced but remains unreleased due to the film's negative reception and unsatisfactory box office returns. However, a version of the song "Timeless", sung by Clarkson and Guarini, and recorded prior to the film, was included on Guarini's self-titled debut album. The tracks of the unreleased studio soundtrack can be found on various Clarkson fan sites. Two songs, "From Me to You" and "Brighter Star", did not appear in the theatrical release, but were added to the extended version DVD release. Clarkson also performed "The Bounce (The Luv)", and "Timeless" during her shared (with Clay Aiken) "Independent Tour" in 2003 with her male backup singer performing the male vocals on "Timeless".
Songs used in the film and soundtrack (in order of appearance):
- "I Won't Stand in Line" (Original artist: Reba McEntire)
- "Vacation" (Original artist: The Go-Go's)
- "The Bounce (The Luv)"
- "Brandon's Rap"
- "Forever Part of Me"
- "It's Meant to Be"
- "Timeless" (Also released on Guarini's debut CD Justin Guarini)
- "Brighter Star" (Extended version)
- "Wish Upon a Star"
- "Anytime" (Alternate version on Clarkson's debut CD Thankful)
- "Madness"
- "Timeless (Reprise)"
- "From Me to You" (Extended version)
- "Anytime (Reprise)"
- "That's the Way (I Like It)" (Lyrically changed cover of original song by KC and the Sunshine Band)
- "Sugar"
See also
- Box office bomb
- List of films considered the worst
References
External links
- From Justin to Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
- From Justin to Kelly at Box Office Mojo
- From Justin to Kelly at Rotten Tomatoes
- From Justin to Kelly at Metacritic