Honey | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Bille Woodruff |
Written by |
|
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | John R. Leonetti |
Edited by | |
Music by | Mervyn Warren |
Production company | NuAmerica Entertainment |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $18 million [1] |
Box office | $65.3 million [1] |
Honey is a 2003 American dance film directed by Billie Woodruff (in his directorial debut). It stars Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Romeo Miller, Joy Bryant, and David Moscow, with a cameo by Missy Elliott and featured performances by Tweet, Jadakiss, Ginuwine, and Blaque.
Honey Daniels works as a bartender, a record store clerk and a dance teacher at a NYC community center run by her mother. She wants to become a hip hop choreographer, though her mother presses her to teach ballet uptown.
Honey and her rival Katrina are recorded having a dance off. She and her friend Gina find brothers Benny and Raymond street dancing and invite them to her classes.
The dance-off video reaches video director Michael Ellis, who hires Honey as a backup dancer and later as a choreographer. Her career brings money and fame, but takes her away from the center and the neighborhood kids.
After Benny gets into a fight, Honey hires him as her assistant to keep him out of trouble. She convinces Michael to hire her students as dancers in Ginuwine's new video. Honey begins dating Raymond's barber Chaz, who inspires her to prioritize her happiness over fame. She puts down a deposit on an old store she can turn into a dance studio.
Michael insists Honey go with him to an "important meeting," causing her to cancel the birthday trip with Gina. The meeting turns out to be a networking party, where Michael drunkenly hits on her. She slaps him and leaves. Gina is furious to see a photo of Honey at the party. At the Ginuwine shoot, Michael fires Honey, replacing her with Katrina.
The kids are heartbroken. Benny returns to drug dealing, gets arrested and lands in juvy. Honey then visits him and tells him that she is aware of his pending release and mentions that she wants to help him once he is released. At this point, Benny starts to insult her. Honey attempts to express disappointment about his choices but Benny continues belittling her and tells her to leave him alone. As she prepares to leave, Honey manages to ask Benny how often do his gangster friends come to visit. Benny becomes visibly saddened and silent by this question. Honey then departs and he instantly regrets his rudeness towards Honey realising that she was the only one that cared enough to visit him due his own mother and brother’s refusal to see him because of their disappointments in him. Benny realises that he has mainly disappointed himself for making wrong decisions that could get him imprisoned for life or killed.
Gina eventually forgives Honey, and encourage her to trust in herself. As Honey's income dries up due to Michael's influence in the industry, she is unable to pay the remainder of the store's down payment, which will soon go back on the market. Honey decides to hold a dance benefit and newly-released Benny brings his dance friends to help, teaching them some moves he learned while in juvy.
Michael pushes Katrina as choreographer for a Missy Elliott video, but Missy prefers Honey. Having realised his huge mistake, Michael profusely apologises to Honey and begs her come back, offering to buy her the studio. Realising that he is in major trouble with his artists, Honey calls him out on his hypocrisy. She stands up to him and tells him that he is selfish. She then rejects his offer and makes him realise that not only did his selfishness and arrogance cause Honey to blackballed and fired but he intentionally betrayed the kids and took his anger out on them and he did it out of pettiness and stupidity.
Gina's bank manager asks arts donors to attend the benefit, which is a full house and everyone is enthusiastic about the performances. Honey's mother sees that the dance form her daughter loves can give her everything that ballet could. The bank manager assures Honey the building is fully funded.
Missy Elliott arrives as the benefit finishes, rushing in to meet Honey. She introduces Honey to the R&B group Blaque at her new dance studio, The Bronx Dance Center, to prepare their new video.
A number of popular hip hop and R&B musicians, groups and producers play themselves in prominent cameos, including Missy Elliott, Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, Shawn Desman, Ginuwine, Rodney Jerkins, 3rd Storee, Tweet, and Blaque.
The film is inspired by the life of choreographer Laurieann Gibson, who was the film's choreographer and appeared on screen as Katrina, the main character's rival. [2] [3]
Singer/actress Aaliyah was reportedly originally cast as Honey, though the role was later recast to Jessica Alba due to Aaliyah's death in August 2001. [4] However, in 2020, director Bille Woodruff debunked the rumor, stating: "That’s incorrect. It was supposed to be Beyoncé. That’s been widely reported but it’s incorrect, [Beyoncé] couldn’t do it because of her touring schedule for her first album Dangerously in Love ." [5]
Honey was released to mostly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 21% based on reviews from 116 critics, with an average rating of 4.20/10. The critical consensus reads, "An attractive Jessica Alba and energetic dance numbers provide some lift to this corny and formulaic movie". [6] Metacritic, based on 30 reviews, gives the film a score of 37 out of 100, signifying generally unfavorable reviews. [7]
A. O. Scott of The New York Times was one of the critics to give the film a positive review, noting that it "brings out the wholesome, affirmative side of the hip-hop aesthetic without being overly preachy, although it will not impress anyone with its originality." [8]
The film opened at #2 at the U.S. box office, earning US$12.9 million in its opening weekend, behind The Last Samurai . The final box office was $30.3 million in the U.S. and Canada and $31.9 million in other countries, for a total of $65.3 million worldwide. [1]
A soundtrack containing hip hop, R&B, funk and disco music was released on November 11, 2003 by Elektra Records. It peaked at #105 on the Billboard 200 and #47 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
Bille Woodruff, the director of Honey, also directed three sequels, the theatrically released Honey 2 (2011) and two straight-to-video sequels Honey 3: Dare to Dance (2016) and Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018), each with different casts.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton, known as Aaliyah, was an American singer and actress. She has been credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop, and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop".
Melissa Arnette Elliott, also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began on her musical career as a member of the R&B girl group Sista during the 1990s, who were part of the larger musical collective Swing Mob—led by DeVante Swing of Jodeci. The former group's debut album, 4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994) was released by Elektra Records and met with positive critical reception despite commercial failure. She collaborated with album's producer and Swing Mob cohort Timbaland to work in songwriting and production for other acts, yielding commercially successful releases for 702, Aaliyah, SWV, and Total. She then re-emerged as a solo act with numerous collaborations and guest appearances by 1996, and in July of the following year, she released her debut studio album, Supa Dupa Fly (1997).
Timothy Zachery Mosley, known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, and singer. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinctive "stuttering" rhythmic style. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly stated that "just about every current pop trend can be traced back to him—from sultry, urban-edged R&B songstresses [...] to the art of incorporating avant-garde sounds into No. 1 hits."
Swing Mob was a loosely knit musical collective consisting of artists and record labels first discovered by Jodeci member DeVante Swing in 1991. The artists on Swing Mob included Missy Elliott with the group Sista, Timbaland, Magoo, Ginuwine, Static Major and the rest of Playa, Darryl Pearson, Mike "Funky Mike" Jackson, Tweet with the group Sugah, Majik, Jimmy Douglass, Stevie J, Maija Max, Renee Anderson, Bazaar Royale and Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott among others, although the group's full membership has never been documented comprehensively. A list of some known artists in Swing Mob at the time of the group's activity can be found in the liner notes of Jodeci's third studio album, The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel (1995).
I Care 4 U is a posthumous compilation album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on December 10, 2002, by Blackground Records and Universal Records. Following Aaliyah's death on August 25, 2001, Blackground decided to release a posthumous record in collaboration with Universal Music Group. The album compiles eight of Aaliyah's previously released songs alongside six previously unreleased recordings which were discarded from sessions for her eponymous third and final studio album (2001).
Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music videos since 1994, and Toni Braxton, with whom he has worked 10 times since 1996. Woodruff directed the videos for some of Braxton's biggest singles, including "Un-Break My Heart", "You're Makin' Me High", and "He Wasn't Man Enough".
Laurieann Gibson is a Canadian choreographer, director, television personality, singer, actress, and dancer. She has choreographed dance numbers for musical artists such as Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé. Her music video directing credits include "Judas", "You and I", and "Love to My Cobain".
Natina Tiawana Reed was an American singer, rapper and actress. She was born in New York City and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, where she pursued a career in music beginning in her early teens. Discovered by rapper Lisa Lopes, she worked as a writer for the girl group TLC. Reed gained notice in the late 1990s as a member of the girl group Blaque. They released two albums: their 1999 eponymous debut album that peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200, and Blaque Out (2001).
"Miss You" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah. Written by Johntá Austin, Ginuwine and Teddy Bishop in 1998, the song was initially recorded in 1999 for Aaliyah's eponymous third studio album (2001). However, it did not make the final cut for Aaliyah and remained unreleased until after Aaliyah's death in 2001. It was then included on the posthumous compilation album I Care 4 U (2002) and was released as its lead single on October 28, 2002, by Blackground Records and Universal Records.
The following is a discography of songs with production and writing credits from American woman rapper Missy Elliott, sorted by album, date, and title.
"One in a Million" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for her second studio album of the same title (1996). It was written by both Missy Elliott and Timbaland with the latter producing the song. It was released to Rhythmic contemporary radio as the third single from One in a Million by Blackground and Atlantic Records on November 12, 1996. Musically, the song is an R&B and club ballad with trip hop and drum and bass influences. While Lyrically, it is about the narrator (Aaliyah) professing her love for a man whom she identifies as being her "one in a million".
"4 Page Letter" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for her second studio album, One in a Million (1996). Released as the album's fourth single by Blackground Records and Atlantic Records on April 8, 1997, it was written by both Missy Elliott and Timbaland with the latter producing it. Musically, it is an R&B ballad in which the protagonist is expressing feelings for her crush in the form of a letter.
"Make It Hot" is the first single from Nicole's debut album of the same name. The single was released on June 2, 1998. The single was written by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Tim Mosley, and A. Richards, and was produced by Timbaland. The song features Mocha and Missy Elliott and uncredited lead and background vocals from Keli Nicole Price.
The 2001 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 6, 2001, honoring the best music videos from June 10, 2000, to June 8, 2001. The show was hosted by Jamie Foxx at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
Dave Scott is an American hip-hop dance teacher, choreographer, and talent developer. He gained widespread success from his choreography in movies, primarily the 2004 dance film You Got Served and the 2008 dance film Step Up 2: The Streets. He is a resident choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance and The PULSE on Tour dance convention.
Honey: Music from & Inspired by the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2003 film, Honey. It was released on November 11, 2003 through Elektra Records and consisted of a blend of hip hop and R&B music. The soundtrack peaked at 105 on the Billboard 200, 47 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and 6 on the Top Soundtracks.
Cainon Renard Lamb, professionally known as Lamb or Lamb Litty, is an American record producer and songwriter from Miami, Florida. He has worked with artists including Beyoncé, SWV, Missy Elliott, Monica, Keyshia Cole and Jazmine Sullivan. In 2017, Lamb made his rapping debut on colleague Missy Elliott's single "I'm Better".
Richard "Richy" Jackson is an American dancer, creative director, and choreographer from the San Francisco Bay Area best known for his work with Lady Gaga. Jackson has a lifelong interest in dance, and after seeing school friend Aaliyah on television, he left Tuskegee University in 1999 and moved to Los Angeles to pursue dance as a career.
"Take Away" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott. It was written by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album, Miss E... So Addictive (2001), while production was helmed by the latter, with Elliott and Craig Brockman served as co-producers. The downtempo track features guest vocals from R&B singer Ginuwine. While the album version of "Take Away" credits background vocals by 702 member, Kameelah Williams, the single version replaces Williams's vocals with then-newcomer, Elliott's former protégée Tweet.
Sharaya Howell, known professionally as Sharaya J, is an American rapper and choreographer. She is known for her singles "BANJI" and "Smash Up the Place," as well as for being signed to Missy Elliott's label The Goldmind Inc. Prior to her work as a musician, she worked as a hip-hop choreographer and urban screenplay writer. On April 17, 2017, she released her debut mixtape, Dope Product.