As a middle-aged white Englishman with no interest in hip-hop music I must admit that I am not part of the demographic at which this film was aimed. (I had no idea, for example, that Tweet, Jadakiss and Ginuwine, three performers who appear in it, were actual people rather than fictitious characters, although I had just about heard of Missy Elliott).
The title character Honey Daniels is a New York dance teacher; her mother would like her to teach ballet in a prestigious dance school, but she prefers to teach hip-hop to the local street kids. Her dream is to become a famous hip hop choreographer working with big-name stars. She thinks that her dream has come true when she comes to the attention of Michael Ellis, a successful music director, who is able to find her choreography work with some of the big names in the industry. Unfortunately, Honey and Michael have a falling out- he wants a romantic relationship, she wants a purely professional one because she already has a boyfriend, a local barber. After Honey makes it clear to Michael that she is not interested, he ends their association and does all he can to sabotage her career.
Honey is the daughter of a black father and white mother. (Apart from Michael, who is white, nearly all the other characters are black). I was therefore surprised that she is played by Jessica Alba. (Apparently Beyoncé was the first choice, but she was unavailable). I suspect that today considerations of political correctness and worries about cultural appropriation would prevent the casting of an actress of mixed white and Hispanic ethnicity in the role, but there was evidently less concern about such matters in 2003. The past, even the comparatively recent past, is another country where they do things differently.
The heroine's Christian name is an appropriate one- Alba plays her as ultra-sweet and sugary. It's probably an appropriate title for the film as well, because the plot is almost drowning in sweet, sticky sentimentality, with plenty of irresistibly cute children. The cast put plenty of energy into the numerous song-and-dance numbers, but as I said this sort of music isn't really my thing. Those who like it will doubtless enjoy the film more than I did. 4/10
The title character Honey Daniels is a New York dance teacher; her mother would like her to teach ballet in a prestigious dance school, but she prefers to teach hip-hop to the local street kids. Her dream is to become a famous hip hop choreographer working with big-name stars. She thinks that her dream has come true when she comes to the attention of Michael Ellis, a successful music director, who is able to find her choreography work with some of the big names in the industry. Unfortunately, Honey and Michael have a falling out- he wants a romantic relationship, she wants a purely professional one because she already has a boyfriend, a local barber. After Honey makes it clear to Michael that she is not interested, he ends their association and does all he can to sabotage her career.
Honey is the daughter of a black father and white mother. (Apart from Michael, who is white, nearly all the other characters are black). I was therefore surprised that she is played by Jessica Alba. (Apparently Beyoncé was the first choice, but she was unavailable). I suspect that today considerations of political correctness and worries about cultural appropriation would prevent the casting of an actress of mixed white and Hispanic ethnicity in the role, but there was evidently less concern about such matters in 2003. The past, even the comparatively recent past, is another country where they do things differently.
The heroine's Christian name is an appropriate one- Alba plays her as ultra-sweet and sugary. It's probably an appropriate title for the film as well, because the plot is almost drowning in sweet, sticky sentimentality, with plenty of irresistibly cute children. The cast put plenty of energy into the numerous song-and-dance numbers, but as I said this sort of music isn't really my thing. Those who like it will doubtless enjoy the film more than I did. 4/10