Review: 'Britney In Hawaii'

It's no surprise that most music critics don't like Britney Spears. Let's face it....they're not supposed to. Spears attracts young fans for the same reason old overweight hippies loved Jerry Garcia--fans are drawn to someone they can relate to as an equal. To someone who, if things were different, would be a friend, a confidant, maybe even a lover.

Spears, like most female teen singers, walks that line between childhood and the adult world. Her core fan base is still pre-teen, but there is certainly that group who pay attention to her because she looks great bending over in jeans.

And that's the problem for Spears. She's constantly walking this balancing act, not wanting to alienate either of her completely different sets of fans. So her performances always seem a bit disjointed--careening from sex kitten to best friend. Often in the matter of seconds.

This special, filmed in Hawaii, illustrates the problem perfectly. While it is airing on Fox, much of the show leans towards satisfying ten-year-olds everywhere. Spears hangs out with her dancers, she talks about going to the beach, she and her crew even surprise a local girl by stopping by her house unannounced. Spears then tells the girl to call all her friends, because they're going to have a pizza party.

But those scenes are interspersed with musical numbers which fleetingly promise to be sexy before backing away from the precipice. She sings her upbeat hits, bouncing around to "Crazy," and "Oops, I Did It Again," while walking that line between dancing and doing choreographed stretching exercises.

Spears is certainly sexy, particularly when she isn't trying to look thirty, but she never manages to nail it. Maybe it's her age, maybe she's concerned with her image. But what the performances lack are passion--both sexual and musically. Even her ballads seem forced, as if she's working too hard on trying to seem casual.

One result is that when Destiny's Child comes out to do a number, they fill the screen with energy in a way Spears can't quite manage. For all her vast experience and years in the business, she's still a teenager, and a few more life experiences will do wonders for her stage presence and charisma.

In the end, while the special was safely workmanlike, it isn't going to attract any new fans. Ironically, she was much more effective on last year's Disney Channel concert, where she seemed to be more relaxed and sure of her place in the universe.

Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that Spears is at a pivotal point in her career. She needs her new album--her second--to be a smash. Unfortunately, that type of pressure usually makes an artist conservative and scared to make any changes that might alienate their audience. Which might explain why her new hit sounds so close to stuff on her last album that she manages to come off like some weird Britney Spears tribute band. The track isn't bad...it's just not memorable.

Unlike most critics, I actually think Britney Spears has a lot going for her. She's talented, and often charming. And she's certainly sexy enough to make me wish I was 18 and real studly.

The question is, what's she going to do with all that potential?