From Justin to Kelly

From Justin to Kelly is a 2003 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.

Plot
The film is set during spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Texan singing waitress Kelly Taylor meets Pennsylvanian college student Justin Bell, who 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

 * Kelly Clarkson as Kelly Taylor
 * Justin Guarini as Justin Bell
 * Katherine Bailess as Alexa
 * Anika Noni Rose as Kaya
 * Brian Dietzen as Eddie
 * Greg Siff as Brandon
 * Jason Yribar as Carlos
 * Christopher Bryan as Luke
 * Theresa San-Nicholas as Officer Cutler
 * Justin Gorence as Greg
 * Kaitlin Riley as Ashley
 * Marc Macaulay as Mr. O'Mara
 * Jessica Sutta as Bracelet girl
 * Zachary Woodlee and Robert Hoffman as Featured dancers

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 underperforming its first weekend, 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.

Critical reception
The film has a 10% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 63 reviews; the average rating is 2.7/10. 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 has a score of 14 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".

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." 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".

Reception from Clarkson
Clarkson has since stated that before the film went into production, she pleaded with the creator of American Idol to be relieved from the contractual obligation to star in a film, and that she has always disliked From Justin to Kelly. In an interview, she admitted she joined the film only 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."

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.

Total Film magazine ranked the film at number 16 in their list of 66 Worst Movies Of All Time.

Home media
The DVD release includes an extended version of 90 minutes which has two new musical numbers, "From Me to You" and "Brighter Star", additional lyrics, 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):
 * 1) "I Won't Stand in Line" (Original artist: Reba McEntire)
 * 2) "Vacation" (Original artist: The Go-Go's)
 * 3) "The Bounce (The Luv)"
 * 4) "Brandon's Rap"
 * 5) "Forever Part of Me"
 * 6) "It's Meant to Be"
 * 7) "Timeless" (Also released on Guarini's debut CD Justin Guarini)
 * 8) "Brighter Star" (Extended version)
 * 9) "Wish Upon a Star"
 * 10) "Anytime" (Alternate version on Clarkson's debut CD Thankful)
 * 11) "Madness"
 * 12) "Timeless (Reprise)"
 * 13) "From Me to You" (Extended version)
 * 14) "Anytime (Reprise)"
 * 15) "That's the Way (I Like It)" (Lyrically changed cover of original song by KC and the Sunshine Band)
 * 16) "Sugar"