The 2003 dance film Honey tends to get lost in the pool of outdated romcoms of its era. Except it’s not just a romcom, and it’s not outdated. Honey is actually a film that manages to maintain a breezy enjoyability while giving a solid representation of women, race, and some more serious, sensitive subject matter.
For a film made in the early noughties, it’s like a unicorn.
Honey is, at its heart, a dance film. The spectacle of performance is a huge draw card of the film. But it’s not just performance for spectacle sake – the film and story of Honey Daniels is inspired by the life of choreographer Laurieann Gibson. Gibson was the film’s choreographer, and she appeared on screen as Katrina – Honey’s rival.
It’s showcases this boss woman’s story, and her talent, while she directly benefits from the film by being part of the production. We love that.
Originally the main role of Honey Daniels was going to be played by the iconic musician and actor Aaliyah, but was recast due to her death in 2001. Honey was recast to Jessica Alba, who is great to watch in the film as both a dancer and actor.
However, it would have no doubt been a more powerful choice in terms of racial representation to cast the lead role as a black woman as originally intended, and as accurately reflects the woman the film is based off.
Looking past the casting of Jessica Alba in the lead role, the representation in this film is actually good. That is derived absolutely from the fact that it is directed by Billie Woodruff, a black man with experience working with the hip hop industry directing music videos.
Honey represents a mostly-black community with a nuance that transcends the racial stereotypes of too many films. Honey’s love interest Chaz is a great example of that.
Chaz, played by Mekhi Phifer, is kind, sensitive, (HOT), and mature. He is a barber who isn’t involved in any criminal activity and respects women. It shouldn’t be revolutionary to have a male main character who is both black and non-criminal, (and not merely the sassy undeveloped side character), but those are few and far between in the mainstream noughties films that Honey is associated with.
Even in the scene when Honey walks little Raymond home to his mother, the film uses the mother’s response to prompt us to empathise with her own struggle. This scene calls out the saviour complex of the stranger swooping in where systemic conditions of poverty have made home life difficult for parents to manage – a story we see play out frequently in lesser films.
The underlying message seems to be that the availability of community activities to engage youth in poorer areas (like Honey’s dance centre) can help to keep them away from criminal activity they might be otherwise encouraged to participate in.
So one thing that Honey successfully advocates for is funding for poorer communities. Undeniably that’s a great message we rarely see from a romcom/dance flick.
Another aspect to appreciate is the way Honey tackles a #MeToo story, years before the #MeToo movement brought those to the spotlight.
Honey is discovered by Michael, who takes a special interest in her while acting as her manager. In a confronting scene, Michael attempts to coerce Honey into sex with aggressive physical advances. He does not respect Honey saying no or physically resisting and only stops when she slaps him.
Michael then slut-shames her, fires her from a music video she had her students working on with Ginuwine, and blackballs her from the business.
When Michael eventually comes crawling back and even offers to pay for her dance studio, Honey rejects both his apology and his money. She calls him out for his behaviour and for being selfish and arrogant.
Showing this reality is powerful in its own right, and the fact that Honey succeeds in spite of the predatory man who tried to ruin her is the way it should be. That is an excellent, progressive narrative that is as relevant as ever.
Plus, Honey has a Missy Elliot cameo, which is a nod to one of the most progressive female hip hop artists in the game.
Although the Rotten Tomato critics score for Honey is at 21%, the audience score is 71% – it’s undeniably an enjoyable film! It manages to transcend so many of the tropes of the genre with which it’s associated. We should give Honey the appreciation we never did for being one of the best early noughties easy flicks, that still holds up.