HONEY: A GUILTY PLEASURE

I went down to Key Cinemas this past Saturday for my weekly dose of arthouse fare. I watched Korean director Park Chanwook’s oldboy. The film won the Grand Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and I missed it when it screened at the Indianapolis International Film Festival a few months ago. Amazing flick. But it’s dark and depressing nature left me craving something a little lighter the next day. Enter Honey, the 2003 film about a hip-hop dancer and aspiring music video star (played by Jessica Alba) who overcomes all odds to make her dream come true. I saw it in Wal-Mart and just had to have it. Only $5.96 and on VHS no less. As expected, it was predictable, clichéd and poorly acted; it had me cringing and laughing the whole way through. But I’ve always had a place in my heart for cheesy dance movies. Guilty pleasures, really. Save The Last Dance, Fame, Center Stage and Flashdance…I dig them all. They’re fun. They’re fluff. And Honey was just what I needed to provide the yin to oldboy’s yang.