The Secret Life of Bees Critic Reviews

On screen something happens that goes beyond Monk's powers of description and Fanning's way of seeming 14 and 44 at the same time.Read the full review

Above all, it contains characters I care for, played by actors I admire.Read the full review

The Secret Life of Bees is a lesson -- or, rather, a whole series of them -- we no longer need to learn. Of course, it's also a divine-sisterhood-defeats-all chick flick, and on that score there's no denying that its clichés are rousingly up to date.Read the full review

What's being sold here is the movie equivalent of the honey-drenched sweet potato biscuits that are forever being passed around on-screen. Their nutritional value may be nil, but they sure look comforting.Read the full review

The other actress to stand out is, unsurprisingly, Queen Latifa, whose intense screen presence makes her a force to be reckoned with even when she's simply standing in the background, not saying anything.Read the full review

Suffused with a golden glow, the movie looks and sounds like a fairy tale.Read the full review

An affecting ensemble piece that's destined to generate a fair share of awards-season buzz.Read the full review

The film insists so strenuously on its themes of redemption, tolerance, love and healing that it winds up defeating itself, and robbing Ms. Kidd’s already maudlin tale of its melodramatic heat.Read the full review

It's pleasant and often touching, and the well-chosen cast sells what little drama they get, but there's no depth and little affect, and every would-be conflict peters out noncommittally.Read the full review