We open in a seedy bar, where the smooth sounds of impressive female vocals fill a mostly empty room. You're already thinking "what the heck, this girl seems way too talented to be singing at this small town bar!" And you're right, because it's Kelly f*cking Clarkson, winner of "American Idol," American hearts everywhere, and the leading role in the most influential film of the 2000s.

That's right, "From Justin to Kelly," the iconic masterpiece written and directed by nobody important, which shattered pre-established notions of what film should be and redefined cinema as we knew it. On a superficial level, it's easy to see just why this movie appeals to us — the slow-building ballads, the high drama, the expertly crafted story arc — but we're not here to just scratch the surface. We're here to delve into what makes "From Justin to Kelly" literally The Greatest Film of All Time.

The method acting.

Kelly Clarkson, following in the footsteps of other greats such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Christian Bale, mastered the art of method acting with this one — upon receiving the script for "From Justin to Kelly," she cried for over an hour, no doubt in preparation for the scene in which she shares a tearful confrontation with Alexa after her nefarious plot to keep Justin from Kelly was revealed. Kelly's sublime performance in this scene shook us to our very core and forced us to ask ourselves: who are we, really, when everything else is stripped away?

The chemistry.

We all know that phrase "chemistry is something you can't fake," but our leads take this idea to an entirely new plane. I found myself having to remind myself several times throughout "From Justin to Kelly" that it was just a film and that theyare just actors — I truly felt like I was watching two people fall in love over and over and over again right in front of my eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if the two were falling in love behind the scenes: Justin's extremely heteroerotic energy combined with Kelly's unrelenting sexual intensity had viewers everywhere transfixed and left us wondering if a love that burned so brightly on the big screen could really stop there. Take this iconic scene, for example, during which Justin professes his love for Kelly through song:

The undeniable look in his eyes speaks of a deep, true love, and in no way indicates any

intention

of serial

murder.

The dismantling of stereotypes.

"From Justin to Kelly" was so much more than just an incredible film about the trials of love and loss. There was another very important message at its core: the message of anti-racism. In an unprecedented and extremely bold move by the film's writers, the character Carlos is introduced and, get this — Carlos is Mexican/Latino/Spanish and works a sh*tty job at a sh*tty restaurant and goes salsa dancing in his spare time. "From Justin to Kelly" bravely dismantles the stereotype that Mexican/Latino/Spanish men do not work at restaurants and especially do not salsa dance. Thanks to the courageous writers, racism dropped over 500,000 percent worldwide after the film's release.

This b*tch.

"From Justin to Kelly" introduced one of the most complex antagonists the big screen has ever seen. Alexa, at first glance, was just a fun and wild friend; she would be considered a "party girl" if "From Justin to Kelly" dealt in simple stereotypes. But, as we've learned, it doesn't. Alexa's story arc was breathtaking: in the beginning, we like her, then we hate her for interfering with destiny, then we empathize with her for always feeling inferior to Kelly Clarkson, then we love her for bringing Justin and Kelly back together and setting fate right. No character in the history of cinema has ever experienced as much growth nor such absolute redemption as Alexa, and with her character, the writers of "From Justin to Kelly" introduced a revolutionary idea to the world of film: sometimes, the bad guys are just misunderstood.