Taglines: The tale of two American Idols.
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.
From Justin to Kelly is an American musical romantic comedy film written by Kim Fuller and directed by Robert Iscove. The film, starring American Idol first season winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini, won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst ‘Musical’ of Our First 25 Years in 2005. This film is often regarded as one of the worst movies ever made.
Spring break in Miami is the scene. It’s where surf-drenched guys cruise girls in bikinis and raucous parties rule day and night. It’s the perfect time and place for three young women from Texas and a trio of college guys from Pennsylvania to find adventure and maybe even fall in love. In a Texas dive bar, Kelly is singing her heart out to a few local yokels when her best friends Kaya and Alexa try and tempt her away for some fun in the Florida sun.
It’s an easy sell–even for the cautious Kelly – and the three head for Miami. Making their way to the same destination is the “Pennsylvania Posse”: college students Justin, Brandon, and Eddie. Justin and Brandon are smooth-talking party promoters, while Eddie’s primed to meet Lizzie, the cyber dream girl he’s been e-mailing for months. Miami Beach, beating with a rhythm all its own, is teeming with beautiful people. Kelly’s friends are drawn into the beachside fun, while Kelly tentatively navigates a sea of strangers.
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.
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.
Directed by: Robert Iscove
Starring: Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Katherine Bailess, Anika Noni Rose, Theresa San-Nicholas, Brian Dietzen, Kaitlin Riley, Renee Robertson
Screenplay by: Kim Fuller
Production Design by: Charles Rosen
Cinematography by: Francis Kenny
Film Editing by: Tirsa Hackshaw, Casey O. Rohrs
Costume Design by: John Gene Cavalli, Bobbie Read
Set Decoration by: Regina McLarney
Music by: Greg Siff, Michael Wandmacher
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, sensuality and brief language.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: June 20, 2003
