"CROSSOVER" — * — Anthony Mackie, Wesley Jonathan, Wayne Brady; rated PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity, violence, brief sex, brief drugs, racial epithets).
The would-be street hoopster characters of "Crossover" have plenty of flashy, original moves. Sadly, the movie itself has none.
This sports drama simply employs the expected arsenal of supposedly dramatic shots, fakes and lobbed passes. But few if any of them hit their target. The whole thing is so amateurish it verges on unintentional comedy.
Anthony Mackie and Wesley Jonathan star as childhood friends Tech and Cruise, talented street basketball players whose lives are headed in opposite directions.
Cruise has been accepted to UCLA, where he's planning to play college ball and study pre-med. As for Tech, he's busy playing in games run by Vaughn (Wayne Brady), an opportunistic, underground sports organizer.
Vaughn wants Cruise to bypass college and turn pro — with himself serving as agent, of course. And he's not about to take no for an answer.
Meanwhile, both players have fallen for women (Alecia Fears and Eva Pigford) who may be gold diggers.
Both Mackie ("Freedomland") and Jonathan ("Roll Bounce") have shown some talent and charisma in front of the camera. But their performances here are limited by screenwriter/director Preston A. Whitmore II's inept, music video-style direction. Only a fake television commercial featuring Mackie's character shows real flair and talent.
Whitmore also made a disastrous casting decision in having comic Brady play a dramatic role. His performance is as unconvincing and unbelievable as the film's plot.
"Crossover" is rated PG-13 for occasional use of strong profanity and crude sexual slang, violence (hoops violence, as well as a couple of scuffles), brief sexual content, drug references and use of racial epithets. Running time: 95 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com