...should generate good box office from its femme demo. There is little to appeal to the guys out there, even as a date movie.
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10/21/08
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The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
58
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:134
Fresh:78
Rotten:56
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: The Secret Life of Bees has moments of charm, but is largely too maudlin and sticky-sweet.
Theatrical Release:Oct 17, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $37,665,012
Synopsis: THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, based on the New York Times best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory... [More]
Starring: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
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Reviews for The Secret Life of Bees
This does have strong work from Fanning and Hudson, but it's just a TV movie with spruced up production values for the big screen.
10/21/08
Sweat and good intentions, however, will take you only so far. And they take Bees right up to the threshold of entertaining%u2014but not one step further.
10/20/08
The honey runs thick in The Secret Life of Bees, and so does the treacle.
10/20/08
Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but Secret Life of Bees is better than most family fare currently available to audiences. Latifah and Hudson, in particular, and memorable.
10/19/08
The movie just lies there on the screen, drowning in its own sticky syrup.
10/18/08
A well-acted, optimistic tale of female empowerment set against the backdrop the Civil Rights Movement.
10/18/08
Buzz should be strong for 'Bees'. A heartfelt and moving adaptation of the beloved novel.
10/18/08
Buzz should be strong for 'Bees'. A heartfelt and moving adaptation of the beloved novel.
10/18/08
The by-the-numbers story structure of The Secret Life of Bees is its primary drawback from being something special.
10/17/08
Every year, a movie is released that is so torturous for me to sit through that it almost violates the terms of the Geneva Convention.
10/17/08
Maybe some secrets should remain untold.
10/17/08
If the historical backdrop which the film is set in is well-portrayed, it is the shaggy-dog plotting that is the problem.
10/17/08
Despite a cliched script and bland direction by writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Secret Life of Bees celebrates women and girls, and for that reason should not be written off as just another chick flick.
10/17/08
It's hard to roll your eyes when they're full of tears.
10/17/08
It will be embraced by those moviegoers who find solace in its redemptive themes
10/17/08
What makes up for those missteps is the fact that the story isn't just Lily's; Prince-Bythewood gives the Boatwrights a point of view on her presence, and it's interestingly complicated.
10/17/08
The film is full of sweet, subtle touches.
10/17/08
Top CriticThrough it all, Fanning more than keeps up with the big girls.
10/17/08
Top CriticThose who were moved by the book are likely to find this adaptation affecting and emotionally satisfying.
10/17/08
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