Variety
Like a mouthful of honey, The Secret Life of Bees is cloyingly sweet and gooey, and you're not quite sure you can swallow it undiluted.
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The Secret Life of Bees
The tag line for this one is "Bring your girlfriends, mothers, sisters and daughters." Sorry gents, you're not invited. Set in South Carolina in 1964, it is the story of young, white, Lily (Dakota Fanning) and her black "stand-in mother". When the latter insults the racist town populace, they escape to a nearby honey farm - kept by three sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo) - to start life afresh. Adapted from the New York Times best-selling novel of the same title.
2009110 minsUSA
Drama
- Director:
- Gina Prince-Bythewood (TV's 'Everybody Hate's Chris', 'The Bernie Mac Show')
- Writer:
- Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Cast:
- Dakota FanningQueen LatifahJennifer HudsonAlicia KeysSophie OkonedoPaul Bettany
The Secret Life of Bees / Reviews
The New York Times
The film insists so strenuously on its themes of redemption, tolerance, love and healing that it winds up defeating itself, and robbing Ms. Kidd’s already maudlin tale of its melodramatic heat.
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Los Angeles Times
What's being sold here is the movie equivalent of the honey-drenched sweet potato biscuits that are forever being passed around on-screen. Their nutritional value may be nil, but they sure look comforting.
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Hollywood Reporter
An affecting ensemble piece that's destined to generate a fair share of awards-season buzz.
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Empire Magazine
The source material remains affecting and the cast work hard to add dimension to a lacklustre screenplay. But sadly, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
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