Honey, stars Jessica Alba as a music video choreographer named Honey Daniels..
Taking "Honey" off the shelf
Stop me if you've heard this one before: An aspiring performer dreams of making it big in his/her artistic specialty but outside influences interfere. Don't worry, though, it all works out by the finale, designed to bring the house down and leave everybody happy. Hmmm . . . could that be Flashdance? Or maybe Glitter or 8 Mile?
No, this week's star-is-born-but-not-easily movie is Honey (PG-13), starring Jessica Alba as a music video choreographer named Honey Daniels who wants to be a celebrity, not just make them look good. Kind of like Paula Abdul a decade ago, and we see where that got her.
Honey has the moves and the moxie, but she also has a boss demanding sex from her or else she'll be blacklisted in the music industry.
Will Honey give in for the sake of her dream? Will she stand firm with her values and walk away from the business? Or is there a chance that she can continue to be her own woman, show everyone she's star material and make it to the top? Of course there is. But there are also enough moviegoers who haven't figured out - or grown tired of - these cliches for Honey to make a few bucks at the box office.
Alba is a fetching TV screen presence after her role in the now-canceled series Dark Angel. Whether that charisma translates to the silver screen is unknown, since Universal Pictures didn't screen Honey in time for Weekend review. Anyway, the whole purpose of a movie like Honey is cashing in on a popular starlet and showing off music celebrities such as Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Lil' Romeo to sell soundtrack CDs.
