Honey

Hip hop and rap seem to be the latest music phenomena to sweep the USA and UK; edgy, hardcore beats with lyrics that rap about how tough life is on the street. An extension to this is the new wave of dance that has flared up, as youngsters express their feelings through not just the music, but also through the motions that the music creates. In particular, many cities in the USA are being taken over by youngsters who spend their days on street corners, playing music, whilst aspiring to someday making their own tunes and becoming stars.

Honey tells the story of the titular Honey Daniels (Jessica Alba), a sweet twentysomething who teaches dance classes at her local community centre – allowing youngsters to come and learn a craft, something to get their teeth into and keep them out of harm's way. Slowly she builds up a reputation, before being offered a position in one of Michael Ellis' (David Moscow) new music videos. Ellis is renowned in the hip hop industry as a man who can amplify stars into God-like figures, crafting videos that sell thousands and thrust artists into the spotlight…suffice to say, Honey is thrilled when she encounters such a glamorous world. Her natural talent for dance soon shines, leading Ellis to use her more and more, before she becomes a regular fixture with him. Deciding that he doesn't just want Honey on a professional level, he soon makes a move on her, only to find himself rejected: a blow that aggravates Ellis and leads him to cast Honey out of his videos…

This tale of triumphing against the odds, 'the American Dream', is a worn concept that has been made into numerous films over the years. However, director Bille Woodruff and his two screenwriters assume that their modern spin on the theme – add in some modern music and open the floodgates for the teenagers to come flocking in – will guarantee them a hit. Sadly, it doesn't.

Honey has moments of promise, ranging from Alba's charismatic lead (who is also reassuringly pleasing on the eye, immediately drawing 'honey' puns) to the soundtrack, which, although not appealing to every individual, manages to allow the narrative to flow and not grind to a complete halt. The presence of hip hoppers like Missy Elliot and Lil' Romeo will draw more eager fans in, and their performances do add to the 'realism' of the film – at least Woodruff has managed to lens a variety of believable artists.

However, the film has far too many flaws for this reviewer to recommend it as a successful and engaging viewing experience. Not only is the screenplay clunky and clichéd (girl tries to make it, faces obstacle, eventually overcomes said strife) but the film feels flat and leaves the viewer feeling cold; aside from a minor slice of empathy for the character of Honey, I couldn't care less about the rest of the cast. For all of the film's attempts to draw you in, such as the token case of a child not being loved by his parents, it just pushes you out further and reminds the viewer that other filmmakers have accomplished the same feat in much more style.

The dance sequences and aforementioned soundtrack are short bursts of energy and vitality, something that is impressive to watch, but a 90-minute film cannot be built on colourful set-pieces. Sure, we can see that Honey is excellent at writhing about in front of a camera (which equates to Alba being excellent at the same thing), but as the credits rolled I had to really ask myself what the moral of the story was. Perhaps it's a heavy-handed way of showing that determination and grit will allow anyone to succeed, yet why didn't Woodruff and his screenwriters therefore show Honey actually going through more hardships? She constantly appears to be living a comfortable lifestyle, supported by a pleasant boyfriend (Mekhi Phifer), but at the same time we are supposed to be bleeding for the character. Nevertheless, said discrepancies aside, this film will provide some entertainment for the kids – perhaps the sole audience Universal Pictures were targeting – but there is little substance and not a great deal of style.

The Disc
This R2 release is identical to its R1 cousin, which, incidentally, has been available for a good long while.

The menus are the standard affair – perfectly easy to navigate and designed to fit in with the film.

Video
Presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, and anamorphically enhanced, Honey looks great and the transfer justifies the quality of the various dance sequences. Crisp and clear throughout, it definitely looks like a modern film – free from any blemishes – and no compression artefacts were spotted. An excellent picture.

Audio
A choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks are on offer, with there not being much to choose between the two. The DTS may sound more bombastic, but it may just be the result of a +4db increase that makes it appear to sound better than its Dolby counterpart. Without wishing to get into another heated DD vs. DTS debate, I will add that both soundtracks possess great clarity levels and make a fair amount of use of the surrounds. In summary, another excellent aspect of the disc.

Extras
An audio commentary by director Bille Woodruff and Jessica Alba is the main meat of the extras, a light and chatty track in which they reveal their passion and commitment to the project. Combining anecdotes with genuine insight, fans of the film will definitely get a kick out of this.

'Behind the Groove: The Making of Honey' is a very poor 10-minute exercise in backslapping and sugar-coated EPK: it reveals little, and instead of being a decent documentary about the film, it merely serves to annoy the viewer. Avoid.

More than half an hour of deleted scenes is included, which range from an alternate opening to extended and deleted segments. Again, fans of the film will enjoy the chance to see much more footage, but to me it quickly grew tiresome. A handful of outtakes are also included.

'Dance Like Honey' is a 9-minute featurette in which the choreographer, Laurie Ann Gibson (who had a role in the film), teaches the viewer how to dance in the same vein as Honey and her cohorts. A fairly unique DVD extra, so kudos to the disc's producers for this innovative idea. Three music videos round off the package, one of which includes a short making-of featurette about how Blaque approached shooting their video.

Overall
As a film it's lacking, an exercise in a small amount of style over zero substance. However, many kids will surely enjoy the vibrant dance sequences and perhaps even connect to the simplistic and clichéd narrative – in which case the film can't be classed as a failure. The DVD itself is good, although the extras are lacking in some areas. In summary, Honey herself may be sweet as hell, but the film will definitely leave a bitter taste in your mouth.