movie review
Bee Movie
Seinfeld Buzzes in Sweet Bee Story
When Barry B. Benson (voiced by Jerry Seinfeld) graduates from college, he’s shocked to learn that he’ll be stuck in the same job for the rest of his life. Oh sure, he gets to pick his profession in the Honex bee factory, but somehow, being a stirrer, crud remover, or viscosity specialist doesn’t sound all that appealing to this adventurous bee.
So he falls in with a group of “pollen jocks”—SWAT team-type bees who fly out into the world, collect pollen, and bring it back to the factory for processing. When Barry ventures into the human world of New York City, he breaks the cardinal bee rule and speaks to a quirky Manhattan florist named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger). He really just wants to thank her for saving his life (her boyfriend nearly smacked him), but the two become fast friends.
Barry soon learns the awful truth: humans have been stealing honey from bees for their own profit—for millions of years! In fact, he visits a honey farm, where the worker bees are imprisoned in hives (the inside of which look like actual prisons). Barry vows to end this travesty, and proceeds to bring a lawsuit against the honey industry.
At first glance, this movie seems like one long Seinfeld stand-up act, with joke after joke about humans and bees and their precarious lives. You can almost picture Seinfeld on stage, saying, “You know what the problem with bees is?” And so on and so forth. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Seinfeld’s a very funny guy, but it gets old after a while.
That said, there ARE some very funny moments in the film. My favorite is when Barry lands smack on the windshield of a truck speeding down the highway, There, he meets a bunch of other insects, including a mosquito named Mooseblood (Chris Rock) who’s happy to help with the lawsuit, because “I’m already a bloodsucking parasite!” That’s a joke about lawyers.
Though my kids—10 and 13—got a little antsy in the middle, we all agreed this is still a fun movie with colorful animation and great voices, including Matthew Broderick as Barry’s friend, Adam; John Goodman as bloated attorney Layton T. Montgomery; and Patrick Warburton as Vanessa’s clueless boyfriend, Ken. And don’t miss the beginning scene—an homage to “The Graduate,” with Barry jumping into his parents’ swimming pool while they badger him about his future.
Simmering in the background is the movie’s social commentary about saving the planet (when the bees quit working, it’s not pretty), and the importance of doing even menial jobs well and pulling together for the greater good.
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