Film Review – Bee Movie (2007)

The movie behind the sweeping meme sensation, here’s my review of 2007’s Bee Movie!  However, every time I say bee in the review I post the entire script of the Bee Movie, and every time I post the entire script of the Bee Movie, I post the entire script of Antz.  But every time I post the entire script of Antz, I start the review all over again (that’s a little joke for all of you meme enthusiasts).  Without further ado, enjoy!

Synopsis

Bee Movie is directed by Simon Smith and Steve Hickner and stars an impressive array of voice talent including Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, and Matthew Broderick.

Throughout the film, we follow Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) as he tries to figure out what career path is best for him.  Determined to do more than the typical bee in the hive, Barry ventures out into the real world and does the unthinkable by talking to a human.  The human, named Vanessa (Zellweger), begins to show him a day in life of humans when Barry learns that humans are taking honey and using it for themselves.  Barry then takes it upon himself to rid the world of this injustice and take the honey back for all the hard-working bees by taking the human race to court.

image via New York Magazine

Background

Bee Movie has surprisingly been one of the most requested movies for me to review thus far.  This fervent desire comes from the recent meme-craze that is ravaging Twitter, and the rest of the internet for that matter.  While the movie definitely has some points of discussion (we’ll get to those in a little), one the biggest questions surrounding this movie concerns its meme-ability: Why has Bee Movie transformed into more than a simple animated movie, but a sensation that college students everywhere mention every chance they get?

Bee Movie made only approximately $127 million at the domestic box office on a $150 million budget.  It would seem that the film came and went without making much of an impression on its audience.  However, the film itself has such a ludicrous premise and inherent silliness that the film is ripe to be made into some troll’s meme.  An obscure reference from a movie that’s not too familiar but intrinsically comical can become hilarious from its shear randomness.

image via 2048

What I Liked

Now that we’ve tackled the root of Bee Movie‘s internet popularity, one question remains: is the film any good?

After a brisk 90-minute run time, Bee Movie is a deeply flawed movie, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy yourself while watching it.

The shear ridiculousness of the plot of Bee Movie is worth some demerits on its own.  A bee talking to humans and having a pseudo-romantic relationship with a woman while suing mankind for taking bees’ honey is absolutely bonkers.  Sure, these story points will get laughs from people watching the movie ironically, but for those wanting a little more out of their movie experience, the plot falls pretty flat (I can feel the internet starting to hate me already).

There was absolutely a lot of creativity involved in the making of Bee Movie, and the animators over at Dreamworks should receive some type of credit for not giving us the same plot ideas repackaged in a movie circling around bees.  But that shouldn’t distract you from realizing that the plot itself is pretty silly.

image via YouTube

What I Didn’t Like

I also question what Bee Movie‘s intended audience was for the content put on screen.  You would think that an animated movie rated PG would obviously be tailored more towards kids, but most of the ideas and jokes in the film are better suited for adults.  What kid wants to sit through court hearings and discussion of bees working one job every single day until they die?  Better yet, what child would understand jokes regarding Ray Liotta and his role in Goodfellas?

Honestly, kids may be bored watching Bee Movie due to its subject matter.  This film works better for a twenty-year-old college student with a definitive presence on social media so they can understand the pop culture references made throughout the film, which also plays into the discussion of the film’s meme-ability as mentioned earlier.

image via DVDActive

What I Liked…Continued

That being said, for a more appropriate audience, there’s a lot of fun to be had in Bee Movie.  Jerry Seinfeld is allowed to provide us with his signature brand of comedy throughout the film intermingled with some really clever references and snappy dialogue from some great voice talents.  While there may be a few too many bee puns (that might be a little bit of an understatement), there are plenty of laughs in this film that keep the movie watchable through its absurd story.  I found myself uncontrollably laughing at the mania on screen a surprising amount of times.

image via Critical Commons

Conclusion

To conclude, Bee Movie is definitely entertaining despite a lot of obvious shortcomings.  It gets a B(ee).

Just kidding!  In all seriousness, Bee Movie definitely has its moments, but as a critic, I can’t bring myself to give this movie a fresh rating with its obvious imperfections (a C+ or higher would equate to a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes on my scale).  Bee Movie gets a C-.  It’s very silly and flawed, but it’ll certainly keep your attention if you happen to put it on during your next Netflix binge session.

image via New York Magazine

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Thanks for reading!  Have you seen Bee Movie?  Comment down below with your own thoughts (and maybe some memes if you’re feeling adventurous)!

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