Did You Ever Notice These 19 Easter Eggs From Britney Spears’ Movie ‘Crossroads?’

If you’ve never seen Britney Spears’ 2002 movie Crossroads, you truthfully aren’t missing that much. I’m a Britney super-fan, but even I can admit that Crossroads is not an amazing film. From a critical standpoint, it’s ridden with clichés and poor dialogue—and even if you can get past that, Crossroads isn’t campy enough to earn so-bad-it’s-good status. It takes itself too seriously and sacrifices potentially cultish moments for earnest saccharine. When the song “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” is the crescendo of a movie, you know you’re in trouble. (Sorry, that song is garbage. I know it. You know it. Britney herself knows it. Probably.)

But as a loyal Brit stan, I watch Crossroads and pretend to love it—we all do. And there are aspects of the film that are good! Now that Crossroads is 15 years old (it hit theaters February 15, 2002), it has an undeniable nostalgia factor. Plus, it’s filled with little Easter eggs (both Britney-themed and not) and fun facts that you might’ve missed as a teen. From *NSYNC to “…Baby One More Time” and even Spy Kids, these 19 nuggets hidden in Crossroads will make your inner nineties child weep.

1. Young Lucy is actually played by Britney’s younger sister, Jamie Lynn. She was roughly 10 years old at the time of filming.

2. Shonda Rhimes—yes, that Shonda Rhimes—wrote the screenplay for Crossroads. Britney should return the favor by doing a guest spot on Scandal.

3. The cowboy hat Lucy puts on at the beginning matches the hat Britney wore during her Dream Within a Dream Tour,, which took place the same year as Crossroads filming.

4. Lucy dances to Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” at the top of Crossroads, and that’s not a coincidence. At this point in her career, Britney frequently referenced Madonna as her biggest inspiration. In fact, the two met for the first time in 2001, when Crossroads was in production. Madonna was definitely on the brain!

5. Justin Long plays Lucy’s lab partner.

6. Zoe Saldana from Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy plays Kit, the town’s resident queen bee and former BFF of Lucy and Mimi.

7. Taryn Manning, your fave from Orange Is the New Black, plays Lucy and Kit’s pregnant former friend named Mimi.

8. Oh, and Dan Effing Aykroyd plays Lucy’s father. So many big-time actors in this movie!

9. If you look closely in Lucy’s room, you’ll find sports equipment on the floor. This also isn’t a coincidence: Britney was a huge athlete in high school. Specifically, she was the point guard on her school’s basketball team.

10. When Lucy stops by her dad’s garage, she says hi to a man named Jamie. That is the name of Britney’s father IRL.

11. Pepsi products pop up frequently in Crossroads. At the time Britney had just inked a fancy-pants advertising deal with the soda company. It looks like product placement in Crossroads was a part of that.

12. In the car the girls beg Ben (Anson Mount) to change the car radio to *NSYNC’s song “Bye Bye Bye.” Britney was famously dating Justin Timberlake around this time. Shout-out to my ex!

13. When the group seeks refuge at a seedy Alabama motel, they stay in room 19. Britney was 19 when she filmed Crossroads.

14. Mimi sports pigtails during the motel bathroom scene. A hat tip to Britney’s iconic “…Baby One More Time” hairstyle, perhaps?

15. Midway through the film, Ben’s car breaks down on a Louisiana highway. Louisiana is Britney’s home state.

16. The girls perform “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” at a New Orleans karaoke bar to get some fast cash for their car troubles. This song choice isn’t random: Britney does a cover of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” on her third album, which came out three months before Crossroads.

17. The poem Lucy reads—and eventually sings—to Ben is actually just lyrics to “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” a ballad from Britney’s third album.

18. Lucy’s mom is played by Kim Cattrall from Sex and the City, which Britney frequently cites as her favorite show.

19. And last but not least: When Crossroads was in production, Spy Kids had just come out. Spy. Kids. Do you see that huge marquee in the background of this pic? We’re all officially ancient.