Slow and earnest, with dreamy, sleep-inducing music, it proves to be a remarkably inconsequential film even if it does possess a few dramatic moments.
Comment
10/16/08
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
58
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
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.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Mar 5, 2009 Wide
US 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
Reviews for The Secret Life of Bees
101 - 120 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
The film lurches from terrible tragedy to happy montage and back again, never attempting to rise above a typical weepie.
10/16/08
[A] deeply moving film about learning to understand where we come from and where we're going...
10/16/08
...a pleasant, unexpectedly enthralling endeavor that manages that rare feat of actually improving upon its source material...
10/16/08
... plays like heartwarming popular fiction dipped in honey.
10/16/08
Latifah is, as always, pure pleasure to watch.
10/16/08
Oprah Book Club: The Movie.
10/16/08
Respectable but bland, the movie's gentle sentimentality could easily be forgiven if only its characters were granted a little more depth.
10/16/08
As a realistic portrayal of life in rural South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees is dreaming. As a parable of hope and love, it is enchanting.
10/16/08
Top CriticIt's hard to imagine that The Secret Life of Bees won't be part of many Oscar conversations. It has the intelligence, craftsmanship, and heart to win over both critics and regular movie-goers.
10/16/08
Is the sweetness worth the stickiness in this maudlin American Sisterhood of the Traveling Green Tomatoes?
10/16/08
Nothing wrong with a weeper, as long as it earns its tears honestly. Bees does for the most part, largely through performances that rise above the sometimes too-pat material to convey -- and elicit -- real emotion.
10/16/08
...it's almost impossible not to like it, in a pat-on-the-head, half-patronizing kind of way.
10/16/08
Chugs along pleasantly like a television special tailored for the crossover female market. Which is basically what it is, though it drops tantalizing hints that it has more on its mind than a benign tale of substitute mothering across the color line.
10/16/08
A fable of black and female liberation in the sixties south so drenched in sugar that watching it may make your teeth hurt.
10/16/08
The movie slogs like honey dripping off a butter knife. It doesn't help that Prince-Bythewood slams the audience with heavy-handed symbolism.
10/15/08
1960s-set family drama tackles weighty issues.
10/15/08
Show me the nuance and scratch the false sincerity.
10/15/08
Prince-Bythewood, who directed the 1999 romance Love and Basketball, may have intended a showcase for strong black screen actresses, but she neglected to hire more than one.
10/15/08
Isn't it time that Hollywood took a sabbatical -- maybe a permanent one -- from movies in which black characters exist primarily to save the souls of white ones?
10/15/08
Latest News for The Secret Life of Bees
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
January 08, 2009:
Dark Knight Sweeps People's Choice Awards 
"The Dark Knight" cleaned up at the 35th annual People's Choice Awards, taking home hardware for favorite movie, action movie, cast, superhero, and onscreen matchup. More...
December 05, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Writers Warm to Madagascar 2; UK Critics Liked Lakeview Terrace
With thirteen new releases in the UK cinemas this weekend, let Rotten Tomatoes help you sort the tinsel from the turkeys. We have animals on the loose in Madagascar: Escape 2... More...
December 05, 2008:
Female Directors Challenge Status Quo
Hollywood directors have always been a bit of a boys' club, but as the $70 million opening of Catherine Hardwicke's "Twilight" attests, that's slowly changing. More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Virtuoso Vistas of The Lovely Bones
Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.
Worst Hollywood Remakes of the Decade
Movieline gets bravely swept away with the recycled refuse of the 2000s.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs
We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.
Win Inglourious Basterds DVDs
We're giving away five copies of Tarantino's hit, with thanks to Universal. That's a bingo.
IGN RSS Feeds