Jessica Alba stars as Honey Daniels, a product of the inner city who gets discovered shimmying in a nightclub, becomes the hottest hip-hop dance sensation since J- Lo, only to give it all up to save a group of underprivileged kids from themselves. Inspirational (or condescending, depending on what side of the tracks you hail from) as that may sound, “Honey” is a silly dance movie with two left feet, so clumsy it can’t stop tripping over itself. The profoundly pretty Alba is a capable enough actor who does a decent job keeping Honey sweet, but not too saccharine, but she’s about as believable a product of the Bronx streets as 50 Cent would be playing Hootie Johnson’s golf buddy. And it doesn’t take a seasoned professional dancer to realize you don’t become a high-paid music video choreographer, literally, overnight without sleeping with SOMEONE first!
The man who would-be slept with, but isn’t, is Michael Ellis (David Moscow), the IT video director for the likes of hip-hop superstars Missy Elliott, Ginuwine and Jadakiss (all of whom make cameos and provide tracks for the soundtrack). Ellis not only gives Honey her big career break, he introduces her to a world of parties chock full of playa-pimps and high-priced bubbly. But despite her burgeoning career, impressive social calendar and a sorta-kinda romance with a local barber (Mekhi Phifer), Honey’s heart is with the young kids from the dance class she teaches at a rundown rec center. First and foremost among them is a precocious little tyke named Benny (pint-sized rapper Lil’ Romeo). After Benny gets pinched selling weed, Honey decides the only way to save him and the other impossibly cute at-risk youths is to open her own dance studio in the ’hood. Her plan is embraced by everyone from Missy Elliott to a benevolent loan officer from the bank who gladly forks over the dough to finance the studio, convinced that with Honey leading the way, it’s only a matter of time before the Crips and the Bloods trade in their colors and guns for tap shoes and ballet slippers. (Rated PG-13 for drug content and some sexual references.)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 5, 2003. Read the original PDF.