Honey: La Reina Del Baile

After reading a lot of the reviews on this board, I thought this movie was going to be really bad however I found that this movie isn't really as terrible as some people have made it out to be. Jessica Alba plays Honey Danies, a hip-hop dance teacher hoping to make it as a choreographer, for someone who didn't have any previous dance experience, she sure does a fantastic job! Mekhi Pfifer is good in his supporting role as the barber with a lot of heart.

This movie is something that has been done many times before so you can't expect an oscar nominated screenplay etc etc. However, its something you can enjoy and if you are into the music or dancing, then this is definitely something for you

a 6/10

Credit `Honey' with at least having its heart in the right place – even if its brain isn't always so easy to find. The ever sunny and optimistic Honey Daniels holds down two jobs in her increasingly hectic life – a bartender by night and a hip hop dance instructor by day. She has hopes of one day appearing in a music video, a dream that comes true when she catches the eye of a big time producer named Michael Ellis. Not only is Honey a smash in her first video appearance, but Michael immediately hires her as choreographer for one of his projects. As is typical in these strive-and-succeed tales, Honey soon discovers that success is not all that it's cracked up to be when Michael reveals his true colors, setting up conditions for her continued employment that she hadn't quite counted on (in other words, `put out or pull out'). But the always-undaunted Honey is not about to be knocked down that easily. She uses this little setback to start thinking less about herself and more about the street kids whom she sees turning into drug dealers and gangsters right before her rose-colored eyes. Filled with a righteous zeal and determination, she rallies the neighborhood to raise money for a new dance studio that can get the youngsters off the street, channel their energies in a more positive direction, and turn their lives around.

Only the most Scrooge-like curmudgeon could object to the positive, laudatory, pull-yourself-up-by–the-bootstraps message the film is trying to convey, and one would have to be downright inhuman not to feel uplifted by the final dance sequence. But good intentions and noble aspirations do not, in and of themselves, make for a quality film, and `Honey' is a long way from fitting that bill. The movie wants to be taken seriously as a realistic view of urban life but very little of what we see ever rings true, starting with Honey herself who, with her invariably perky demeanor, seems like a cross between Little Mary Sunshine and Mother Teresa in form fitting jeans and matching halter top. Everything that happens to her – from her meteoric rise in the music video world to her purchase of an empty store for her new dance studio to the benefit performance she and her dancers stage to raise the money for the project – all come about way too easily and with virtually no noticeable effort on her part. We never believe for a moment that any of this would happen in this way in the real world. Thus, `Honey' is really little more than an urban fairy tale, fine for children, I suppose, but not of much use for adults with a more pragmatic understanding of how life actually works.

Jessica Alba is no great shakes as an actress, though she has an infectious smile and a bubbly demeanor that work well on screen. But it is Zachary Williams, as the adorable, gap-toothed eight-year-old Raymond, who steals the show. Now that is one hell of an endearing little kid.

If you wanna see a hot young beautiful girl shaking her bootie (and not in a vulgar way) go ahead and watch the movie!Jessica alba's character is way to innocent and a bit fake...I mean how can a girl like that , dressed like that could walk alone at night in a neighborhood like that...and what about Michael... how can that person could actually be successful...To me the only two things that are worth watching are the dancers ( a plus for Jessica alba) and the scenes with Missy Elliot!!But anyway it's really frustrating you have to write at least 10 lines...I'm running out of ideas...In conclusion go to the movie if you want because who knows...maybe you would like it.

This movie, if the director had cut out all of the acting and concentrated on 90 minutes of music videos, it would be immensley more entertaining. Ms. Alba was at the screening I attended and admitted she did not know how to dance prior to being signed for the movie. This was very evident in the movie when she was surrounded by actual dancers. The plot was extremely contrived and is full of ethnic stereotypes. From the evil Black drug dealer to the rich White yuppie drug buyer. Interestingly enough, Ms. Alba's Hispanic roots are completely ignored, perhaps to escape any comparison to Jennifer Lopes as she repeatedly stumbles over the ethnic slang that predominates the dialog. The screen play could have used a little bit more humor to counter balance the sometimes dark subject matter. The ending made little sense and reminded me of a scene from "The Brady Bunch" as they had to put on the 'Big Show' to raise money.

I stumbled on this while channel-surfing and was pleasantly surprised. Many positive messages tucked in to an appealing story acted out by a surpassingly attractive cast: Be true to yourself; follow your dream (but don't sell out); love your neighbor, stay loyal to your friends, your family, and your 'hood. It reminded me of when I saw Krush Groove as a teen and it gave me a window into a whole other world. Except now hip hop is the dominant pop culture and not exotic anymore. But we still rarely get to see positive characters of color with their emotional depth fully explored. Lil Romeo gives an especially nuanced performance.