For today’s issue, I am watching a movie that came in as a request and I’m oh so glad it did. I may have totally forgotten about this movie if it weren’t for said request and I was absolutely delighted to see that it has a lovely 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, so I knew it was prime for a write-up. This is one that I swear I’ve seen at least part of in my life, but I really can’t remember much about it aside from it featuring hip hop choreography and following your dreams. I also feel like this movie was the first to kick off the dance movie craze of the mid 2000s, but I don’t feel like researching whether or not I’m correct so I’m going to just roll with it.
What are we watching today? Honey, the 2003 Jessica Alba vehicle where she wants to be a dance choreographer and that’s really all I remember about it. The movie also features Mekhi Phifer and Lil Romeo, as well as cameos from a bunch of rappers. Honestly, I’m not sure how I didn’t own this movie when it came out. It seems like it’s right up my alley. This one was directed by Billie Woodruff, a music video director who is also responsible for Honey 2 and Honey 3. I guess when you find your niche, you steer into it. This one did okay at the box office which I guess is the reason it got a couple straight-to-DVD sequels, but critics were not into it. Maybe we will be though? Let’s press play and find out.
Our movie begins with Honey Daniels (Jessica Alba) smiling and tending bar in a popular NYC club while a Ghostface verse plays. Her friend Gina (Joy Bryant) arrives and tells some customers that Honey will be leaving the bar soon to “make it” as a dancer. She leaves the bar with Gina and takes to the dancefloor to some Sean Paul while Katrina (Laurie Ann Gibson), a rival, tears the floor up with her dance crew. The DJ drops Erick Sermon’s “Relax” and Gina and Honey break it down on the floor. The soundtrack to this is outstanding already. No one ever gives this E-Dub song its credit. The club goes crazy for Honey and Gina and their moves, flexing in Katrina’s face while a white guy with cornrows films them on a camcorder. Katrina bumps into the pair as they go to leave and gives them some attitude and insults Gina and Honey before Gina rips Katrina’s extensions out and they leave.
Outside, a crew is breakdancing and Gina and Honey watch with full attention. The star of the crew is Benny (Lil Romeo Miller), a pint-sized dance machine who effortlessly changes his moves with the changing song tempos. Benny eyes Honey and she offers to have them join her hip hop dance class at the youth center. They all laugh her off except for one small kid until a cop comes and clears the kids out, sending them running. The next day at the youth center, Honey catches the eye of Chaz (Mekhi Phifer) as he plays basketball with some pals. In Honey’s dance class, she debuts a new remix from DJ Scratch to the excitement of her class, which overlooks the basketball court. Everybody is pretty freaking good at dancing and even when a young girl Letitia (Sarah Francis) falls, Honey is a good coach guiding her back to her feet and boosting her confidence. Her class is interrupted by Benny and his friends who enter blasting their boomboxes. Honey is happy to see them and has them fall in with her dancers to learn the moves. They lose the patience almost immediately and leave. Raymond (Zachary Isaiah Williams), Benny’s little brother, admits to Honey that Benny and his friends just wanted to show off before leaving.
Honey’s mom Connie (Lonette McKee), who also works at the youth center, wants Honey to teach ballet and work in a fancy studio uptown. I had a feeling we’d get a “torn between your dreams and your parent wanting what’s best for you” dilemma here, but I didn’t realize it would happen so soon. Connie insists hip hop won’t take her as far as ballet but honestly I don’t know anyone in 2023 making money off ballet but I personally know plenty of people cashing rap checks. Shrug emoji. Honey’s dad (Anthony Sherwood) offers to take her to her next music video audition and tells Connie not to worry so much. She gets in line with what appears to be over a hundred other dancing NYC hotties. Turns out she missed the open audition and can’t audition without an agent. She’s shit out of luck. In the record store her and Gina work at, they watch Missy Elliot videos and daydream about being the dancers.
At Michael Ellis Agency, Michel Ellis (David Moscow, who I initially called “whats-his-fuck” because I thought it was Denny from Meet the Parents) spots a video of Honey serving Katrina in the club and is taken by her dancing, but also by the look on his face, also by her beauty. Later at the club, Michael approaches Honey to be in his music video but she blows him off thinking he’s just trying to get laid. Michael fully introduces himself and wants Honey in a Jadakiss video. Gina is excited because she knows who Michael is. He gives Honey his card to come audition and leaves while the two celebrate Honey’s good fortune. Honey calls Michael and leaves her number with his secretary but their hope is deflated with how dismissive the secretary is on the call. At the youth center, Chaz tries to get Honey to shoot hoops with him but she has her class. After class, Raymond stays after to tell Honey how much he likes her class. She tells him she’s not going anywhere with an air of defeat.
Raymond goes to find Benny at a corner store where Benny tells him to go home, stating he can’t be there at the moment. Benny watches from the store as his older friends meet up with their plug and do some hand-to-hands with customers in cars. Honey arrives home and Mike left a message with info on the video shoot. Honey is ecstatic. She arrives at the shoot and is immediately ushered into hair and makeup and given a briefing of what’s expected for the video shoot. We get a nice appearance from not only Jadakiss, but Sheek and Jae Hood too. D Block is in the building. How did I not know a feature film had Jae Hood in it? Mike throws Honey into the mix with the dancers but she has a tough time starting out. Mike gives Honey some one-on-one choreography advice and Honey comes to life, following how she would dance in the club. Mike has all the dancers follow Honey’s lead as Jada and Sheek do their thing in the middle of the big Hype Williams/Little X style shiny video platform. Mike implies to Honey that she’s going to get work as a dancer, saying she won’t have to work at the record store or the club anymore, which leaves her excited. I think we all know how this is gonna go.
Honey and Gina go out to dinner with their friends to celebrate and Chaz from the youth center arrives with his friends. There is obvious tension. The TV at the restaurant shows the music video and the girls scream with excitement seeing Honey on TV. Across town, Raymond, Benny and the crew are amazed to see Honey in a music video. Benny claims she copied his move for the video. He and Raymond find her the next day and he calls her a biter, asking for a royalty check. Benny arrives for class but they learn that Honey has to go shoot more videos. She insist they stay with the new instructor, but only Raymond stays as Honey rushes off to her next shoot.
Honey receives a large check for her work and she’s overjoyed. Gina shows up to go clubbing with Honey but learns she’s going to a charity dinner with Mike. Gina warns her that Mike wants to fuck her but Honey insists it’s all work related. Gina is realistic but wishes her friend a good time. The charity event is at a drag show in a badass gay club. Honey is brought in the VIP lounge where she meets Ginuwine and hold her own in the banter. Mike tells Ginuwine that Honey’s going to be the new choreographer for his next video and Honey is even happier. The next day, she runs into Raymond outside Chaz’s barber shop and she offers to go in with him while he gets his hair braided. Chaz is very happy to see Honey and offers to set Raymond up. Fonzworth Bentley is cutting hair. I want to go to this shop. Chaz and Raymond have a good rapport and his hair comes out looking awesome. Chaz asks Honey out which Raymond helps wingman. Chaz doesn’t need much help though because he’s smooth as hell.
Honey realizes Raymond doesn’t have any guardians around so she takes him out for milkshakes before bringing him home. Raymond is nervous bringing Honey to his house. His mom Marisol (Alison Sealy-Smith) greets her coldly and shuts the door in her face, remarking that she’s busy keeping track of her other kids. Outside, Honey spots Benny and his crew doing handoffs and eyes them skeptically. Later, Honey is choreographing a video and she’s apprehensive with the dancers. Mike tells her there’s “something” missing but is unsure what it is, however, he tells her to fix it. Honey takes a walk and sees some kids dancing. She’s inspired and takes those moves back to the shoot where it’s a success. Damn, Benny was right. She is a biter.
Gina comes to visit Honey and Gina is upset that Honey is too tired to go shopping with her, and seemingly offended when Honey offers her a free D&G dress from the video shoot. Oh wait, Gina comes back for the dress. Smart move. No one knew how awful Dolce and Gabbana were back then. Honey sees Raymond outside looking worried. Raymond tells Honey that their mother’s boyfriend hit Benny and Benny hasn’t been in school lately. They go to find him together. After searching all evening, they spot him at a Chinese restaurant eating alone. They sit with Benny, who tells Honey to buzz off and insists he’ll handle things. Raymond suggests they go to stay with their Uncle Jesse to stay safe but Benny doesn’t want any help until Honey offers to bring Benny on board to help her choreograph a new Tweet video. Benny lives up to his end of the bargain and attends school and he and Raymond join Honey on the set. Benny is inspired but ultimately defeated, believing he’s not destined to be successful which is a bummer.
Honey makes a surprise appearance at her old dance class and tells everyone they can audition for Ginuwine’s next video with her. On her way home, she’s stopped by BB (Wes Williams), the leader of the older crew Benny is part of. He tells her that they need Benny to start coming around again but she resists and he gets threatening. Chaz arrives just in time, telling BB to buzz off. He warns Honey to avoid BB as he’s a dangerous guy. The next day, the youth center is closed down due to not meeting code. Connie tells Honey the City doesn’t think the center is worth funding and is debating shutting it down. Benny and Honey are crushed.
Chaz and Honey take a walk and discuss Benny’s predicament. He takes her to the closed barber shop where they discuss their lives. Chaz tells her about how he got the opportunity sweeping the floor at the barber shop because the old owner wanted to keep Chaz out of trouble. Chaz worked hard and inherited the shop, making decent money doing what makes him happy versus BB who may make more money, but lives a much riskier lifestyle. Chaz and Honey have a sweet little moment and they kiss to that Goapele song.
Honey is out walking a dog I didn’t realize she has when she spots a property for sale and gets the idea to open her own dance studio, I assume. She heads to a bank to inquire about the property and learns she needs a $17,000 down payment. She offers half the down payment to hold it in her name and if she doesn’t have the other half in thirty days, the bank can put it back on the market. She gets to hustling for the video shoots so she can achieve her dreams. I’m getting a bad feeling with how Mike looks at her, since this is that kind of movie, I assume he’ll try and pressure her into sex for the money for the studio. After the first shoot with Ginuwine, Honey thanks Mike for giving the kids the opportunity to participate. Mike drops a flimsy excuse for a meeting that night on Honey which causes her to cancel her plans to Atlantic City with the girls. He goes to pick her up at her apartment with a dress for her. Honey is upset upon learning that it’s a party and not a business meeting, but Mike tries to convince her to use the opportunity to network. She attends the event with Mike albeit reluctantly. At the party, Honey takes Mike’s phone and goes to an empty room to leave Gina a voicemail. Mike follows her into the room and acts like a dirty creep. I knew this was coming. He tries to make a move on her and she has to slap him to get him to stop because the dirtgrub can’t take no for an answer. He tries to pressure her into sex based on what he did for her professionally and he’s angry and drunk. She storms off and tells him she’ll do him a favor and forget that it happened, leaving the party. What a scumbag Mike is. But c’mon, it’s that kind of movie. There was no way this guy was gonna turn out honorable.
Ginuwine’s video rehearsal goes great and the kids are outstanding dancers. Mike arrives to the shoot and immediately axes the kids’ inclusion as revenge for Honey having her own personal autonomy. He also hires Katrina for a sexy role to spite Honey. Honey tells Mike he needs to be a man and fire them himself but Mike tells her he doesn’t care what she wants, which was evident when he tried to sexually assault her. Benny drifts off and catches up with Otis (Kevin Duhaney), BB’s brother, and the crew, on the subway. Otis has his eye on a pair of sneakers a prep school kid is wearing and tells Benny to steal them for him. We get a cut scene with the whole crew running off the subway platform back to the street with Benny carrying the kid’s sneakers. Honey and Chaz go to the park for a date and she confesses she thinks Mike has blackballed her so she can’t get hired anywhere. She’s getting hopeless as she needs to get her money together for the studio.
On the block, Benny goes to sell drugs to a custy but the guy turns out to be an undercover cop. They nab Benny and arrest him. Honey goes to the bank for an extension but they can’t give her any more time. She goes to her parents to ask for a loan, but they do not have it available to loan her. Connie also doesn’t want her to stay in the neighborhood, thinking Honey needs to go out and see the world. Honey however has pride in her neighborhood and wants to give back to it instead of escaping it. I stand by that. Honey has a good heart. Honey arrives home to a note from Gina with a newspaper clipping showing Honey and Mike at the party, not the meeting she had blown Gina’s plans off for. She goes to talk to Gina who allows her inside and to spill about what’s happening. Honey apologizes to Gina and they’re good again. Gina recognizes that Honey has the talent to make it on her own and she needs to believe in herself as much as Gina does.
Honey tells Chaz she has an idea to host a benefit performance to raise funds for the rest of the down payment. Chaz secures a temporary space for the benefit and they get to work preparing the dance class for the big night. We get a nice montage of everyone Takin’ Care of Business to a Nas song. Honey goes to visit Benny in juvie. Benny once again flips his attitude on Honey because she has nothing to offer him. Honey calls Benny out for his “friends” being fair-weather as none of them have come to visit him. Mike is preparing for a video with Missy Elliott and Missy is NOT having Katrina! She wants Honey damn it! Katrina tries to show off and Missy dismisses it as “Heather Hunter backup dancing” and leaves, telling Mike to call her when he has Honey available. Mike tries to fake apologize to Honey because he needs something. He looks like a dumbass in a Fila tracksuit with a Gucci hat. Honey is too wise, though, and knows that the artists want her and he’s fucked without her. He offers her money, noting that he can buy the dance studio out from under her. She dismisses him as a little ass boy and tells him she’s gonna get it on her own. Go Honey!
At rehearsal, Benny is somehow out of juvie and shows up to lead the crew with Honey, realizing who really has his back. Benny shows off the new moves he practiced in juvie. On the big night, Gina shows up with the bank loan officer Ms. Strom (Judi Embden), who happens to be her friend. Gina explained to Strom what Honey was doing and Strom in turn invited some wealthy friends who like to donate to charitable causes and will want to help Honey out with the fundraising. The house is packed and Honey takes the stage to announce the mission for the night just as her parents arrive to see her speak. The troupe does a badass dance routine to an inspirational song as to be expected. The crowd applauds as Honey and Chaz kiss in celebration. Strom gives the thumbs up to Honey after talking to some investors. Gina and Honey’s parents join her on stage. Outside the event, Missy Elliott pulls up to link with Honey, and that’s our movie. Wait, during the credits, Missy introduces Honey to Blaque and Honey choreographs a video for them which ends up playing as the credits roll. Now that’s our movie.
So, what do we think? I enjoyed this a lot! It just felt very low-stakes. I really didn’t feel the pressure behind the conflicts (aside from hating Mike) because I feel like they really didn’t let each one marinate long enough. Honestly though, this was a fun breezy movie featuring a solid cast, great musicians and an Erick Sermon song that I love. I am not necessarily clamoring to see the sequels, but I am mad at myself for taking twenty years to see this one all the way through. If you’ve waited twenty years yourself, it’s currently streaming on Tubi and Peacock. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.