Bee Movie
2007
D: Simon J. Smith, Steve Hickner
**********
Pros: Clever Satire, Some Good Jokes, Animation
Cons: Lack of a Good Framing Plot, Some Characterization
This
Dreamworks movie, partially written by Jerry Seinfeld, seems to get little
respect. In fact, it seems that
disliking this movie is practically a meme.
The primary criticism revolves around the allegedly absurd premise, and
the ambiguously platonic relationship between a male anthropomorphic bee and a
human woman is admittedly somewhat odd.
However, the intentionally outlandish scenario of the bee’s suing
humanity is only a fault to people who don’t understand satire.
The movie
begins with a honeybee named Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) who graduates
college with his best friend Adam Flayman (Matthew Broderick) and, much to the
chagrin of his parents (Barry Levinson and Kathy Bates), puts off finding a job
when he realizes that he’s stuck in whatever career he’s assigned to. This is pretty much standard nonconformist
cartoon formula (e.g. Antz).The humor
during these scenes mostly revolves around lame “LOL we’re bees” jokes,
particularly ones referencing short life spans.
In fact, it wasn’t until 20-40 min into the movie when I had a chuckle.
Barry goes
for a joyride with the Pollen Jocks (led by Rip Torn), who leave the hive to
collect honey. It’s a glamorous job, and
one he aspires to despite his caste. The
trip accidentally gets Barry into the apartment of florist Vanessa Bloome
(Renée Zellweger) and her hilarious boyfriend Ken (Patrick Warburton). Ken attempts to swat Barry, but Vanessa
admonishes him (despite not yet knowing that bees are sapient and that Ken is
allergic). Barry is so thankful he
breaks the rule about interacting with humans to thank her. They form a close friendship that is
ambiguously romantic, but fortunately it doesn’t go any farther than that. Other cast members include Chris Rock, Megan
Mullaly, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Richards, Larry Miller, John DiMaggio, Tress
MacNeille, Carl Kassell, and Jim Cummings as the narrator.
During a
visit to the grocery store, Barry discovers that honey is canned and sold in
jars by humans. Angered by the
exploitation of his species (a pretty good argument against the bees’ rule
against interacting with humans), he sets out to sue the human race with the
help of Adam and Vanessa. This is where
the movie truly shines. Despite Barry’s
justified cause, he takes it too far, not only suing the entire human race, but also trying to revamp every “problematic” of
human culture even tangentially related to the bees’ rights. One example is his campaign to stop the
romanticization of bears in pop culture, which means no Winnie the Pooh,
etc. To make his point, he has a bear
storm into the courtroom appearing vicious, and the movie reveals that the bear
is actually cooperating with him. Any
member of a “privileged” race is automatically a problem, and the only way to
atone for that original sin is to fully support the agenda; the bear is a
perfect example of an “ally.” Jerry Seinfeld tried to warn us about the SJW’s, but we didn’t listen. The funny thing is that this plot point is
criticized for its implausibility; which is kinda the point. The movie uses an absurd situation to make a
statement about victimhood culture.
Most of the
good comedy in this movie revolves around this scenario. The most prominent honey company is owned by
Ray Liotta (himself) in a nice example of pop cultural humor done right. There’s also a particularly funny exchange
with Sting (himself) that lampoons “cultural appropriation” and an amusing
scene in which Barry is interviewed by Bee Larry King (Larry King). When high-priced lawyer Layton T. Montgomery
(John Goodman) goads Adam into stinging him, Adam must have his stinger
replaced with a cocktail sword to save his life. That could be subtle character development as
Barry earlier expresses apathy toward an acquaintance who had died from
stinging in rash rage; he doesn’t feel the same when it happens to his best
friend. Barry & Co. eventually win the
case, and all the bees on the planet decide to take advantage of their victory
and newly won stockpile of honey by not doing anything, further making a
statement. Eventually the ecosystem is
ravaged by their inactivity (which could also be interpreted as an
environmentalist message), and there are no flowers left to pollinate. The movie reverts to a more tediously
formulaic nature when Barry and Vanessa must fly to a flower parade where the
only healthy flowers are left (you’d think people would use these flowers to
help revive the ecosystem). Somehow this
works, and Barry ends up fulfilling his dream of joining the Pollen Jocks and
running a law firm for similar animal-vs.-human cases.
The art
style of the movie is nice, but it’s not perfect. In contrast to the grotesque character
designs in the overrated Antz, the
bees in Bee Movie are cute and
appealing. While they both have human
faces, the former are designed like animals with human faces, which are
generally off-putting and should be avoided unless you want to intentionally
disturb people. Meanwhile, the bees are
more like humanoid cartoons characters with apian attributes, and it works. The design of the bee hive is colorful and
creative, and the movie has some interesting stylization, particularly the
shape of the cars and Layton T. Montgomery.
Most of the humans look fine, but some, like Ken and Ray Liotta, are
doll-eyed refugees from the Uncanny Valley.
Bee Movie isn’t perfect. It has a very clever and prescient satire, but
it didn’t really have a unique plot to use as a framing device, so it just used
a formulaic Dreamworks story about an individual struggling with
conformity. Still, it deserves credit
for its statement and has enough witty dialogue to keep it afloat.
QUOTES
NARRATOR: According to all known laws of aviation, there
is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat
little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees
don't care what humans think is impossible.
[Vanessa and Ken
are playing tennis]
KEN: It’s comin’ in at you like a MISSILE!
BARRY: How about a suicide pact?
VANESSA: How do you do it?
BARRY: I’ll sting you, you step on me.
VANESSA: That just kills you twice.
VANESSA: Ken, Barry was looking at your résumé and he
agreed with me that eating with chopsticks is not really a special skill.
VANESSA: Are you all right?
BARRY: Yeah. What was that? Clip and Save circular?
VANESSA: Yes, it was. How did you know?
BARRY: Felt like about ten pages. 75 is pretty much our
limit.
VANESSA: You sure got that down to a science.
BARRY: Oh, we have to. You know, I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue.
VANESSA: Why don't you just fly everywhere? Isn't it
faster?
BARRY: Flying is exhausting. Why don't you humans just
run everywhere, isn't that faster?
VANESSA: I see your point.
VANESSA: My only interest is flowers.
BARRY: You know, our last queen was elected with that
very slogan.
KEN: Why is yogurt
night so difficult?
KEN: Fine! Talking bees, No yogurt night... My nerves are
fried from riding on this emotional rollarcoaster!
VANESSA: Goodbye, Ken. [Ken exits, then re-enters]
KEN: [to Barry]
And for your information, I prefer sugar-free artificial sweeteners made by man! [exits]
VANESSA: I’m sorry
KEN: [re-enters] I know it’s got an aftertaste! I like it!
BARRY: Tivo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane.
VANESSA: What, you don't have anything like that?
BARRY: We have "Hivo", But it's a disease. It's
a horrible, horrible disease.
BARRY: Mr. Liotta, first may I offer my belated
congratulations on your Emmy win for a guest spot on ER in 2005. [Ray Liotta is
holding said Emmy on the stand]
RAY LIOTTA: Thank you, thank you, th-hahahahaha…
BARRY: I also see from your resume that you’re devilishly
handsome but with a churning inner turmoil that’s always ready to blow.
RAY LIOTTA: I enjoy what I do. Is that a crime?
BARRY: Not yet it isn’t, but is this what it’s come to
for you, Mr. Liotta? Exploiting tiny,
helpless bees so you don’t half to rehearse your art and learn your lines, sir?
[gesturing toward a bottle of “Ray Liotta
Private Select” honey]
RAY LIOTTA: Watch it, Benson. I could blow right now!
BARRY: This isn’t a goodfella, this is a badfella!
RAY LIOTTA: [attacking
Barry with his Emmy] Why doesn’t someone just step on this little
creep so we could all go home? [jury
panics]
JUDGE: Order!
Order in this courtroom!
RAY LIOTTA: You’re all thinking it!
JUDGE: Order, order I say!
RAY LIOTTA: Just say it!
JUDGE: Mr. Liotta, will you please sit down?
[cut to various newspaper headlines: “Sue Bee!!!,” “BEES
TO HUMANS: BUZZ OFF” and “STUDIO DUMPS LIOTTA PROJECT” ]
BARRY: Is this what nature intended for us? To be forcibly addicted to these smoke
machines in man-made wooden-slat work camps, living out our lives as
honeyslaves to the white man? [referring
to the white suits worn by beekeepers]
[A black aide
scoots away nervously from Layton & Co.]
BARRY: So Mr. Sting.
Thank you for being here. Your
name intrigues me, I have to say. Where
have I heard it before?
STING: I-I was
with a band called The Police.
BARRY: But you’ve never been a police officer of any
kind, have you?
STING: Uh, no, I haven’t.
BARRY: No, you haven’t.
And so here we have yet another example of bee culture being casually
stolen by human for nothing more than a prance-about stage name.
STING: Oh, please.
BARRY: Have you ever been stung, Mr. Sting? Because I’m feeling a little stung, Sting…or should I say Mr. Gordon M.
Sumner! [Sting facepalms while the jury
gasps in shock]
LAYTON T. MONTGOMERY: That’s not his real name? [to
aide] You idiot!
[Adam has just
stung Layton]
LAYTON T. MONTGOMERY: Will some angel of mercy come crawl
to suck the poison from my heaving buttocks?
BARRY: You know, there is a Larry King in the human world,
too.
BEE LARRY KING: It's a common name. Next week on Bee Larry King…
BARRY: Nonono, I mean he looks like you, and he has a
show with suspenders and different colored dots behind him…
BEE LARRY KING: [increasingly
annoyed] Next week on Bee Larry King…
BARRY: …and old guy glasses and this quotes-along-the-bottom-from-the-guest-you’re-watching-even-though-you-just-heard-him.
[marquee is
repeating what Barry just said]
BEE LARRY KING: [banging table] Bear week next week! They’re scary, they’re hairy, and they’re
here live! [gets up to leave]
BARRY: Always leans forward, pointy shouders, squinty
eyes, very Jewish…
VANESSA: It turns out I cannot fly a plane.
