CrissCross 1992

Set in Key West in 1969, around the Apollo 11 Moon landing, the film follows Tracy Cross [Goldie Hawn], a divorced mom, who raises her 12-year-old son Chris Cross [David Arnott] in a cheap hotel. Chris narrates the story in voice-over, describing a life he calls “screwed up,” and detailing how they scrape by each day.

John Cross [Keith Carradine], his father, is an Annapolis-trained fighter pilot who served in Vietnam. After a traumatic moment—he bombs a civilian hospital and burns his uniform as a “killer’s costume”—he descends into alcoholism and deserts the family, retreating to a commune. Chris hasn’t seen him in three years, yet he still loves him deeply.

Chris delivers papers and fishes to help support his mother, who works as a bartender and waitress, while she sometimes resorts to stripping to keep them afloat. She is ashamed when Chris confronts her, but she tells him that sometimes in life one has to do what is not good to get what is.

A hidden layer to their world is that drugs are concealed inside the fish Chris delivers, pulling him into small-time drug dealing out of desperation. He longs for stability and tries to coax his father to reconcile with his mother, but the rift remains.

A stranger named Joe [Arliss Howard] comes to town and begins a relationship with Tracy, which unsettles Chris. Joe is not what he seems: he is an undercover law-enforcement agent working to bring down the drug ring. As the investigation escalates, the three become entangled in a web of loyalty, danger, and choice.

The tension erupts in a violent shootout when the drugs are delivered, and Chris narrowly escapes harm. He spends a night in jail and ends up on probation, learning a hard-won lesson about consequences and responsibility. The trio moves to a mobile home park, and Tracy retires from stripping, seeking a quieter, steadier life.

Throughout the film, the Apollo Moon landing is echoed as a metaphor for return and redemption—the moment when the astronauts must have felt relief and happiness upon returning to Earth, regardless of how imperfect life can be.