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December 5, 2003
By Veronica Mixon
Honey is
a sweet musical drama about an ambitious
choreographer who makes it big in Hip
Hop world of music videos. The popular
star of television’s “Dark
Angel,” Jessica Alba plays Honey
Daniels, an inner city dance teacher
who wants to make it as a choreographer.
Spurning her parents’ comfortable
middle-class ideals, Honey regularly
hits the clubs with best friend, Gina
(Joy Bryant Antwone Fisher)
bustin’ moves and wowing the crowds.
One night, Hip Hop director supreme
Michael Ellis (David Moscow Just
Married) spots Honey and immediately
casts her in his next video. On the
set, Michael notices her extraordinary
talent and quickly boosts her career
to choreographer. It’s good for
his business and Honey becomes the talk
of the town. Of course, she doesn’t
give up her job as dance teacher at
the local community center where she’s
taken an interest in troubled “tween”
Benny (Lil Romeo). And, she even finds
time to start a romance with a neighborhood
barber and good guy, Chaz (Mekhi Phifer
8 Mile) who warns her about
Michael. Naturally, he’s right
because Michael believes in the casting
couch and when Honey rejects him, he
shows her the door. But, Honey doesn’t
give up her dream. While she organizes
a benefit to save the community center,
Michael discovers that he’s thrown
away a valuable asset.
Honey is
thin, lightweight stuff but it's also
a lot of fun. There are wonderful dance
sequences and toe-tapping music. The
movie reflects the daydreams of a lot
of inner city/suburban kids who want
to escape either Benny's plight or everyday
boredom. Next to sports, music especially
Hip Hop is the most popular interest
of teens today. This fantasy is a modern
fairy tale even though it's not one
of the best films of 2003. There is
a eager audience for these date movies
which encourage teens to take paths
away from crime and casual violence.
Hip Hop stars Missy Elliott, Ginuwine,
Tweet and Jadakiss & Sheek make
brief appearances. Pretty Jessica Alba
is a natural and after making her mark
on Dark Angel, as
kick-your-butt futuristic heroine, she
definitely has a bright future.
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