Parents' Guide to

Crossover

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Basketball players come of age in lame drama.

Movie PG-13 2006 95 minutes
Crossover Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

Once a sports agent, Vaughn (Wayne Brady) now rigs basketball games. He stages the games in an abandoned Detroit train station, and gives his paid-off players gorgeous red and gold uniforms and cheerleaders. As Vaughn's disappointed girlfriend (Kristen Wilson) tells him, running underground games isn't much of a career. One of the players is reaching a similar conclusion. Though he's making money and meeting pretty girls at the games, Tech (Anthony Mackie) is tiring of the routine and has aspirations to play professionally in Europe. Tech's childhood friend Noah (Wesley Jonathan) wants to go to medical school. A gifted ballplayer, Noah gets a basketball scholarship to a university in L.A., and brings Tech along for the orientation. Around the same time, the boys meet girls. Noah falls for super-sexy Vanessa (Eva Pigford), while Tech likes the slightly more demure Eboni (Alecia Fears). They bring the women to sunny California, where they encounter some adversity and reveal lingering tensions.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Though it's full of powerhouse basketball scenes, Crossover is inept and emotionally unconvincing. The images zip and zap, the cuts are slamming, the colors are extra bright, and the real-life street ball players -- including Philip Champion -- are impressive. But the slick surface can't cover up the tediously contrived storyline, retread plot, and mostly lackluster performances.

Wholly undeveloped and erratic, the characters' relationships -- old and new -- lurch from one dramatic confrontation to another, without much motivation or sense. Indeed, most of the movie's melodramatic content is indicated by the muddy, canned soundtrack, which is to say, none of it is compelling... except the games.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the friendship between Tech and Noah: How does the fact that they feel they "owe" each other for past favors shape their current choices? How might the lack of parental or other authority figures influence their choices? How does the movie represent their girlfriends? Why are so many sports movies so similar?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate