''Longshot'' is a 2001 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Lionel C. Martin Lionel C. Martin is an American music video director, film director and VJ (media personality), VJ from Queens, Queens, New York. While he is known primarily as a music video director, he has also film director, directed the films ''Def Jam's How ...

, and written by

Lou Pearlman Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...

, as a promotional tool to promote the acting debuts of his succession of successful boybands and girl groups, such as

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...

O-Town O-Town (also known as OTWN or OTOWN) is an American boy band formed from the first season of the reality television series ''Making the Band'' in 2000. As of 2015, the group consists of Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and ...

and

Natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

, as well as singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

, girlband

Innosense Innosense was an American girl group that were together from 1997 to 2003. History The band was managed by Lou Pearlman and Lynn Harless (mother of Justin Timberlake). The original members were Danay Ferrer, Britney Spears, Mandy Ashford, Nikki ...

and pop-hip hop trio LFO, all of whom had cameo appearances in the film, as Pearlman had worked with all of them during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Hunter Tylo Hunter Tylo (born Deborah Jo Hunter; July 3, 1962) is an American actress, author and former model. She is best known for her role as Taylor Hayes (The Bold and the Beautiful), Taylor Hayes (1990–2002, 2004–14, 2018–19) on ''The Bold and t ...

Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...

Antonio Sabato Jr. Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

Zachery Ty Bryan Zachery Ty Bryan (born October 9, 1981) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his role as Brad Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement''. He also appeared in the films ''True Heart'' and '' The Fast and the Furious: To ...

, and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

star in the film and Spears has a cameo. The plot recounts the tale of a young boy, Alex Taylor, who gets caught up in his brother's activities as a gigolo, and uses each of the said pop acts as a tool within the film.

Plot

Alex Taylor lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with his older brother, Jack, who works as a

personal fitness trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

and sometime gigolo. Alex's classmates begin to harass him after he misses the game-winning shot at the end of one of his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

games. Meanwhile, Laszlo Pryce, a rich and corrupt businessman, discovers Jack's affair with his wife (Mitzi Martin). Laszlo threatens to kill Jack and Alex unless Jack travels to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to seduce a widow named Rachel Montgomery. On the verge of selling her company, Laszlo wants Jack to relay any inside information he can discover about the impending transaction. Fearing for his younger brother's life, Jack brings Alex with him on the trip. The con begins to unravel when Rachel and Jack fall for each other while Alex similarly falls for Rachel's daughter, Kelly. Jack reveals to Rachel why he's in New York, and the two conspire to expose Pryce. Rachel, though, needs to raise two million dollars to save her company. In a stroke of luck, Alex wins a contest to shoot a halftime, half-court shot. He makes it, Rachel keeps her company, Laszlo is arrested, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Cast

* Tony DeCamillis as Jack Taylor *

as Rachel Montgomery * Joey Sculthorpe as Alex Taylor *

as Laszlo Pryce *

as Tommy Sutton *

Jessica Wesson Jessica Wesson (born January 1, 1982) is a retired American actress. She is best known for her recurring role as Jennifer Sudarsky, Brad's (Zachery Ty Bryan) first girlfriend on the sitcom ''Home Improvement'', and having supporting roles in the ...

as Kelly Montgomery * Tara Davis as Vicky Thompson *

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

as Mr. Chadwick *

Ellen Albertini Dow Ellen Rose Albertini Dow (November 16, 1913 – May 4, 2015) was an American film and television character actress and drama coach. She portrayed feisty old ladies and is best known as the rapping grandmother Rosie in ''The Wedding Singer'' ( ...

as Mrs. Fleisher *

as Deke *

Danielle Fishel Danielle Christine Fishel (born May 5, 1981) is an American actress, director, model, and television personality. She began her career in theater, appearing in community productions of ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''Peter Pan''. She made her debut ...

as Gloria * Jeremy Wieand as Chip * Louis J. Pearlman as Captain Lewis *

Mitzi Martin Mitzi Martin (born December 27, 1967) is an American actress and model, most notable for her roles in the films ''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'', ''Joe Dirt'', ''Dude, Where's My Car?'', and ''The Island (2005 film), The Island''. Her l ...

as Mrs. Pryce * Colin Bain as Hundel *

as Flight Attendant *

as Pilot * Harry "K.C." Wayne Casey as Co-Pilot *

Darrin Dewitt Henson Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1973) is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, director and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

as The Mugger *

* LFO *

Take 5 "Take Five" is a jazz standard originally recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Take Five or Take 5 also may refer to : Music * Take 5 (band), an American boy band (with an eponymous album) * ''Take Five'' (revue), a 1957 American musical revu ...

* C-Note *

Kevin Eubanks Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957) is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short lived ''The Jay Le ...

as Jazz Club Performer *

Marvin "Smitty" Smith Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. "Smitty" was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musica ...

as Jazz Club Performer *

Charnett Moffett Charnett Moffett (June 10, 1967 – April 11, 2022) was an American jazz bassist. Moffett began playing bass in the family band, touring the Far East in 1975 at the age of eight. In the mid-1980s, he played with Wynton Marsalis and Branford Ma ...

as Jazz Club Performer *

Full Force Full Force is an American music group of hip hop and R&B singers and producers from Brooklyn, New York. Members *B-Fine (Brian George) - drums and drum programming, backing vocals *Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) - bass guitar, backing vocals ...

Michael Tylo Michael Edward Tylo (October 16, 1948 – September 28, 2021) was an American actor. Career Among his numerous soap opera roles, he was best known for his portrayal of Quinton Chamberlain on '' Guiding Light''. He played the role from 1981 to 1 ...

as CEO *

Dustin Diamond Dustin Neil Diamond (January 7, 1977 – February 1, 2021) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the ''Saved by the Bell'' franchise. Early life and family Diamond was born i ...

as Waiter *

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

as Himself *

Kelly Rutherford Kelly Rutherford (born November 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Generations'' (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera ''Melr ...

as Herself *

Traci Bingham Traci A. Bingham is an American actress, model, and television personality. Beginning her professional career in the early 1990s, Bingham is best known for her role as Jordan Tate on the NBC action drama television series ''Baywatch'' (1996–19 ...

as Herself *

Lark Voorhies Lark Voorhies (born Lark Holloway; March 25, 1974) is an American actress, singer, spokeswoman and model. Voorhies rose to fame playing Lisa Marie Turtle on the NBC sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993). Voorhies was nominated for the Youn ...

as Herself * Marc Piacenza as Himself *

Mark Breland Mark Anthony Breland (born May 11, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1997, and held the World Boxing Association, WBA welterweight title twice between 1987 and 1990. He later became an actor with a wide rang ...

as Himself *

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 ...

as Himself * Kim Garfunkel as Herself * James Garfunkel as Himself * Stacey Murray as Herself *

Jerod Mixon Jerod Mixon (born May 24, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for portraying Weensie in '' Old School''. He is the older brother of actor Jamal Mixon. He also produced and starred in the comedy rap film ...

as Himself *

Jamal Mixon Jamal Mixon (born June 17, 1983) is an American comedy actor. He is best known for his role as Ernie Klump Jr. in the film '' The Nutty Professor'', and its sequel, '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps''. He is the younger brother of actor Jerod ...

as Himself * Yolanda "Yo-Yo" Whittaker as Herself *

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid f ...

as Announcer *

Robert "Kool" Bell Robert Earl "Kool" Bell (born October 8, 1950), also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer & songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the American R&B, soul, funk and disco band Kool & the Gang. ...

as Announcer *

JoJo Wright JoJo Wright (“JoJo On The Radio”) is an American radio personality, Internet show host, celebrity commentator, and film actor. He hosts the Top 40 radio show, “JoJo On The Radio,” which airs on the number one station in Los Angeles, KIIS-F ...

as Announcer *

Cubby Bryant Paul "Cubby" Bryant (born June 1, 1971) is an on-air radio personality who has hosted and co-hosted programs at stations in multiple markets and in syndication. Notable tenures, all based in New York City, include ten years at WHTZ (Z100), co-hos ...

as Stock Reporter *

Brett Rice James Brett Rice (born April 20, 1954) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is perhaps known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), ''Monster'' (2003), '' Super 8'' (2011), ''Foxcat ...

as Older Valet * Lynn Harless as Country Club Patron *

Ron Yuan Ronald Winston Yuan is an American actor, martial artist, director, and stunt choreographer. He is best known for his roles on '' Sons of Anarchy'', '' Prison Break'', '' Golden Boy'', and '' CSI: NY''. He has acted in numerous films, including a ...

as Friend #4 *

Carrie Stevens Carrie Stevens (born May 1, 1969) is an American model and actress. She was ''Playboy's'' Playmate of the Month for June 1997. Early life Carrie Stevens was born in Buffalo, New York and grew up in Hardwick, Massachusetts. Later she studied jour ...

as Waitress * Joel Redlin as

Chippendales Chippendales is a touring dance troupe best known for its male striptease performances and for its dancers' distinctive upper body costume of a bow tie, collar, and shirt cuffs worn on an otherwise bare torso. Established in 1979, Chippendale ...

Usher

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the film was released on March 5, 2002, via

Transcontinental Records Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 – August 19, 2016) was an American record producer. He was the person behind many successful 1990s boy bands, having formed and funded the Backstreet Boys. After their massive success, he then developed NSYNC. ...

. The album features brand new recordings from

and

especially for the film. # "Feel the Love" -

# "Me (Boom Shelak, Lak, Boom)" - LFO # "See You Again" -

# " Put Your Arms Around Me" -

# "Let's Get this Party Started" -

# "Wishing on Every Star" -

# "So Often" - C-Note # "It Don't Bother Me" - Brizz # "She's a Mystery" - Becker # "In and Out" - Ali Dee # "I Just Wanna (Be with You)" - Bon Voyage # "Happy" - Keli Michaels # "Fall in Love" - Nicole Carter # "A Reason to Love Me" - Joey Sculthorpe # "Longshot Theme" -

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

# "Longshot Theme" (Remix) -

* "Comatose" and "All Around" - Jaymeer were used in the chase scene.

Production

About one-third of the film was service-produced in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, which doubled up as

within the film, under contract with The Danforth Studios Ltd, a subsidiary of SpaceWorks Entertainment Inc. The film was a complete commercial failure, taking in nowhere near the $20 million it cost to film at the box office. The film was also panned by critics, who claimed that many of the pop acts who appeared in the film later claimed to have only appeared due to the amount of pay they would receive for a cameo appearance.

Reception

Release

''Longshot'' was released in theatres on October 25, 2001 in Germany, where all of Pearlman's boybands had enjoyed success long before their international debuts. It was never released to theaters in United States, instead being shown on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

as a television movie, and later released on March 26, 2002 on video and DVD as a home entertainment release. The film was also packaged with copies of ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'', a film which starred Spears, in selected FYE stores in the United States. The film was released on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on March 26, 2002, by Spartan Home Entertainment.

References

Notes

# Members of

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

as Valet, Joseph Fatone as Pizza Chef, Joshua Chasez as Pizza Chef, Christopher Kirkpatrick as Patron, and

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film, and television producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film ...

as Flight Engineer # Members of

Ashley Parker Angel Ashley Parker Angel is an American musician and actor who rose to prominence as a member of the boyband O-Town. After the band dissolved he had a brief solo music career, and was the only former band member who declined to go on a reunion tour ...

, Daniel Miller,

Erik Estrada Henry Enrique Estrada (born March 16, 1949) is an American actor and police officer. He is known for his co-starring lead role as California Highway Patrol officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello in the police drama television series ...

, Trevor Penick, and Jacob Underwood # Members of LFO:

Brad Fischetti Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

Rich Cronin Richard Burton Cronin (August 30, 1974September 8, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and rapper, best known for being the lead singer and primary songwriter for the pop and hip hop group LFO. Early life and education Cronin was born in ...

, Devin Lima, and Brian 'Brizz' Gillis # Members of

Nikki Deloach Nikki DeLoach is an American actress. Early life DeLoach was born in Waycross, Georgia. She is the eldest of three children of Terri, Pierce County School superintendent and David DeLoach, an owner of a wood products company. She has a sister L ...

, Veronica Lee Finn, Mandy Ashford, Danay Ferrer, and Jenny Morris # Members of

: Ryan Goodell, Jeffrey 'Clay' Goodell, Stevie Sculthorpe, Timothy 'T.J.' Christofore, and

Tilky Jones Tilky Montgomery Jones (born June 24, 1981) is an American singer and actor. He was a member of the band Take 5 from 1997 to 2001. Life and career Jones was born in Vero Beach, Florida. He pursued acting after the breakup of his band, Take 5. ...

# Members of C-Note: Jose 'Brody' Martinez, David Pérez, Andrew Rogers, and Raúl Molina # Members of

: Lou George, Paul A. George,

Brian George Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019 ...

, Curtis Bedeau, Hugh Clarke, and Gerard Charles

Citations

External links

* * * * {{Lou Pearlman 2001 films American teen films American teen comedy films Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Lou Pearlman 2000s English-language films 2000s American films