Honey
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 5, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
17
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Honey brings out the wholesome, affirmative side of the hip-hop aesthetic without being overly preachy, and it offers a winningly utopian view of show-business success without real costs or compromises. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Honey doesn't have a shred of originality (except for the high-energy choreography), but there's something fundamentally reassuring about a movie that respects ancient formulas; it's like a landmark preservation program. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
It's a hokey heart-warmer that works. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
A decidedly upbeat number, centered on a good-hearted character. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
Despite some sizzle with love interest Mekhi Phifer, the alluring Alba ends up a desexualized mouthpiece. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The story's sweet, however stale, and many performers have energy. But screenwriters Alonzo Brown and Kim Watson drain the reality out of it. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
By no means is this a good movie, but it's warmed by the solar energy of its star, who surely deserves better than this formula empowerment flick. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
If you're in the mood for a hip-hop film with more happy faces than "The Partridge Family," Honey will divert you. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The last thing I want is this: Yet another instance of black culture diluting itself by imitating a white model. Hell, Honey is hip-hop by way of Andy Hardy. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
A by-the-numbers, let's-put-on-a-show quasi-musical that has absolutely nothing going for it, except Alba. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Neither hot nor square, it's as simple and earnest as any after-school special and as cameo-laden as any rap video. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
First-time director Billie Woodruff, a music video veteran, busts his moves in the dance scenes while the movie throbs to the beat of the wall-to-wall soundtrack. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Has the shelf life of a dented milk carton. Pop-culture movies in general age rapidly due to ever-changing slang and fashions. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
Certainly it exists solely to sell a soundtrack; the movie, like most made for teens, is well beside the point. Read full review
40
SalonCharles Taylor
There's an entertainingly ludicrous movie lurking somewhere inside of the ludicrous, mediocre one this actually is. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Alba, constantly sporting off-the-shoulder tops a la "Flashdance," brings no depth of feeling to her character, and her average -- often wooden -- moves make it hard to believe she's a uniquely talented hoofer and sought-after choreographer. Read full review
40
VarietyDavid Rooney
With less than five minutes of screen time but with more humor and sassy attitude than the remaining cast combined, Missy Elliott separates hip-hop royalty from riff raff in the otherwise lackluster Honey. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Cotton-candy filmmaking, all spun sugar and hot air. Read full review
40
EmpireOlly Richards
With its hackneyed storyline and critical derision in the US, whispers were that Honey was to be the new "Glitter." It's not nearly that bad, which is a shame since it just skims the embarrassingly blind enthusiasm of which camp classics are made -- instead bouncing along the path of bland and forgettable. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
The dancing, while reasonably entertaining, isn't anything you haven't seen before on MTV or BET, although the soundtrack might be a worthwhile investment for hip-hop fans. Read full review
38
USA TodayMike Clark
Hip-hoppish Honey is in the harmlessly junky "let's put on a show" tradition of "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo," minus electricity but with a budget for supporting-cast navel rings that 1984's break-dance sequel certainly didn't have. Read full review
38
PremiereSara Brady
Sticky, saccharine, bordering on diabetic, Honey overindulges. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Honey's a little too darling for reality but, obviously, that's not what this candy-cane vehicle of a movie is all about. It's about the way Alba moves and how good she looks when she's backlighted and smiling. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
It evokes a warmed-over Fox TV special. Read full review
30
Village VoiceEd Park
If you doubt whether Honey can scrape together the dough, this is probably the movie for you. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Hinges almost completely on the taut body and delectable beauty of Jessica Alba, but is otherwise so riddled with limp clichés that it doesn't even qualify as a guilty pleasure. Read full review
25
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Lacks even a trace of imagination. Its by-the-numbers plot is depressingly familiar, and each line of dialogue is so predictable that the script... could have been generated by a computer. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
It's relentlessly dumb and relentlessly humorous, and those aren't the adverbs it was after. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
There's no point complaining that Honey is a tired reworking of an old formula, because it's intended for a young audience that doesn't know the formula. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Amid the endless stream of catch-a-rising-star movie clichés that Honey screenwriters Alonzo Brown and Kim Watson throw up and out are a few new ones, notably "skinny girls always win out in the end" and "hootchie bad, faux hootchie good." Read full review
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