In 2006, “Crash” was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Editing, while being nominated for a slew of other awards for which it did not win. Although “Crash” is an excellent, poignant and intriguing film, I didn’t think it was as good as some of the other best picture nominees.

Since then, copycat films have surfaced where the story attempts to be as cleverly creative as “Crash” while making a current, cultural statement. The latest in this series of failed attempts is “Crossing Over” — which doesn’t even come close to the caliber of “Crash.”

While “Crash” deals with interweaving storylines of bigotry and racial stereotypes, “Crossing Over” delves into a web of less-entangled lives of illegal immigrants. Since one of the biggest dilemmas facing the United States today is illegal smuggling and immigration through the U.S.-Mexico border, the border plays the largest role in “Crossing Over.” However, writer/director Wayne Kramer doesn’t just sit on the fence with these immigrants, but shows that people of all nationalities come to America to achieve legal status.

This is a good idea for a film plot, it just wasn’t executed well. The writing was flat and after awhile it was difficult to care about the characters. The acting wasn’t horrible, it just didn’t have star power — like Matt Dillion or Don Cheadle in “Crash.” (Although, “Crossing Over” does have Indiana Jones — Harrison Ford — as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent). I did enjoy watching Jim Sturgess (“Across the Universe,” “21”) use his real British accent and have an opportunity to sing.

In “Crossing Over,” Max Brogan (Ford) is an ICE agent with a heart of gold. While raiding a Los Angeles sweatshop, he takes a young Mexican woman, Mireya Sanchez (Alice Braga) into custody. Because he feels for these people who he must track down and eventually deport, Max does what she asks and finds her son and takes him to his grandparents in Tijuana. Meanwhile, Max’s Iranian-American partner Hamid Baraher is awaiting his father’s naturalization as a U.S. citizen. Being an immigrant himself, Hamid stops at nothing to show that his family is American.

Another part of the plot unfolds as defense attorney Denise Frankel (Ashley Judd) attempts to find a home for an African girl whose mother was deported. Denise is also in the process of figuring out how to keep a teenage Middle Eastern girl, who’s been suspected of terrorist ideas, with her illegal family. Denise’s husband Cole (Ray Liotta), works for the other side as a green card approver. He uses this power to his advantage when he meets Claire Shepard (Alice Eve), a beautiful Australian who wants to be a movie star and a U.S. citizen. Claire is dating Gavin Kossef (Sturgess), a non-practicing Jewish singer from England who works in a Jewish school. He is also in the process of getting a green card.

Their lives begin to intertwine when Hamid’s sister is found dead the day before their father’s naturalization ceremony. While at a convenience store to buy alcohol, Hamid is stuck in the middle of a shoot-out with a handful of Asian-American teenagers, including Chin Kim (Chil Kong), who is also in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. It’s at this point when the characters begin to unravel and some become citizens while others are sent home.

The problems with “Crossing Over” mainly lie with Kramer, who doesn’t utilize the multi-character plot. The lives don’t criss-cross as much as they should so that each character has some interaction with another to create a cohesive web. That’s the only way in which a film like this can work. Otherwise, it’s just a big, jumbled mess. However, the performances are emotional enough that it helps keep the audience connected. Additionally, “Crossing Over” doesn’t have a happy ending for everyone, so I applaud Kramer for not succumbing to the typical Hollywood happily-ever-after ending.

Missy Thompson: missy@tooeletranscript.com