Honey: La Reina Del Baile

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.

This is a beautiful little movie that just fun to watch. Okay it's full of clichés, predictable in some places, the dialogs are funky sometimes.

But who cares?

If you have nothing to do on a saturday night and your boyfriend/girlfriend just dumped you this movie will get you right up! You've got good vibes coming from all over this movie.

The dancing scenes are really tight, the casting has been done beautifully especially casting Jessica Alba. God she likes shines of the screen.

Go and see this movie, it's fun...

Oh but there is one thing that I kept noticing. And that was that the movie resembles "Glitter" in so many ways. I see that the scriptwriter Kate Lanier worked on both projects.

Jessica Alba is the star of the show; in this movie and in Hollywood since I don't know when. Her situation is something to detail about. Personally, I look at her and I think she has acted her whole life. Everyone talks about her everyday as if she had decades in the business, but she doesn't. I could say I believe she's done over ten films, when this movie was probably her fifth important role. She did a TV show I never saw for two years, but even before that, her name was on the poster of the movies she appeared in. She is a star by nature, a leading star; and "Honey" is the evidence that proves my statement.

When the film starts, Honey Daniels (Alba) is working at the bar in a disco serving the usual free drinks to her best friend Gina (Joy Briant): "One, please", the friend says, and two guys standing right by her get closer: "Make that three". Honey, with a big smile in her face, tells the guys: "Today is your lucky day", and then Gina interrupts: "Don't get to excited though; she'll not be here much longer…She's gonna make it". So the guys ask how she's gonna make it.

Right away we find out Honey dances; and that she dances awesomely well. If Alba did her own dance moves I don't know for sure, but it always looks like her; in the dance floor, in the videos, in the dance lessons. OK, the film: Honey has a great talent for dancing and she could be a classic ballerina but she prefers to teach hip-hop in a place her mother owns. She goes to auditions, she works hard, and she ultimately gets recognized.

But Alonzo Brown and Kim Watson's story is not about "making it"; it is about the good-hearted people who fight for what they want, don't sell and don't quit. I don't even know if this is a veridical portrait of the hip hop world, but the video shoots seem real and I guess the artists/directors relationships should be how the movie shows them. What I wanted to say is that in the music world, mostly with hip hop (which I consider the easiest market today), when people make it, it goes over their heads, and they leave everything behind.

Although not Honey Daniels; she'll not fall into temptation, and she'll be there for the ones she cares for. It may sound too formulaic, but it's beautiful. Debutant director at the time Bille Woodruff, with previous experience from musical videos, shows us the nice face of his characters' world. Everything is shiny, everyone's happy, everyone's smiling. Yeah, sure some bad things happen, but everything will be ultimately worked out.

Great casting work with the youngsters, especially with Zachary Williams as a little boy, Raymond, who needs someone to watch over him; and Lil' Romeo in a tremendous and talented performance as the teenager Benny, who debates himself about being a gangster or a normal child. This plus Missy Elliott's cameo and Mekhi Phifer in the most charming performance of his career, and the some of the best lines as: "You peoples? Playa, playa, how'd you swing that? I've been trying' to be her peoples for weeks; ain't had no luck".

Not enough? Alba looks gorgeously beautiful in every outfit she wears and her acting skills are way above the film's requirements…She's stunning now and it is only the beginning.

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.

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.