Bee Movie

Voices of: Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Chris Rock, John Goodman and many, many more

Dir. Steve Hickner & Simon J Smith
Scr. Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder & Andy Robin

This movie is much better on paper than it is on the screen. Jerry Seinfeld is its driving force – perfect. And the cast of voices are phenomenal. And the story – a bee sues the human race for stealing honey – is priceless. But somehow all this potential amounts to an infrequently funny and largely forgettable film.

I was very excited to hear that Jerry was back and undertaking a project so different from his stand-up and his tv series. “Ah, he’s had kids”, I thought. “He’s all soft and squishy now and wants to make something he can watch with his offspring.” And, why not? Here’s a man who made one of the best tv shows ever and never has to work again – whatever he’s involved in has to be good, right? Well, not exactly.

There’s a lot that is good about this movie, most of which I knew before I went to see it. The title itself – Bee Movie – is a brilliant play on words. The story – bees sue humans – is family-fun genius and cleverly developed. A fantastic array of voices – including Oprah for goodness sake! – is testament to how many people want to work with Jerry. And, to top it all off, there is a cameo from Sting – HA!

But, you know what, I just didn’t laugh all that much. It was clever and, in places, very witty. I chuckled and I smiled wryly, but there were no belly laughs. And that’s pretty fatal for a film spawned by a comedian. I think I like the thought of Bee Movie more than Bee Movie itself.

There’s not much more to say. See it, if you want. It’s not terrible – you won’t throw your popcorn at the screen in disgust. It’s just not that good either.

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Vanessa: Why don't you just fly everywhere? Isn't it faster?
Barry B. Benson: Because flying gets very tiring. Why don't you humans just run everywhere, isn't that faster?