Yesterday, I watched Bee Movie for the first time in years. Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger star as the main characters in this zany animated comedy from DreamWorks. After I spoil the plot, I’ll share my thoughts on the movie.
Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) is a bee who has just graduated from college and is about to get a job. He’s surprised to learn that he’ll be stuck at whatever job he chooses to do for the rest of his life. Before making his decision, he goes outside the hive to explore New York City. He meets a human named Vanessa (Zellweger) who runs a flower shop and saves him from being killed by her boyfriend (played by Patrick Warburton). The two get to know each other and become friends despite the prohibition against bees talking to humans.
One day, Barry is shocked to see honey being sold in stores. After some investigation, he sues the human race for enslaving bees and stealing their honey. The judge sides with him, meaning that humans can no longer use honey and must return all the honey that they haven’t used to the bees. This makes the bees cease working since they now have a massive surplus of honey. However, because they are no longer doing their jobs, plants all over the world begin to die from lack of pollination, putting animals and humans in grave danger.
Just when they’ve given up hope, Barry and Vanessa get an idea to take flowers from the Tournament of Roses Parade in California back to New York and use them to revive all the dying plants. They run into trouble on the return flight when the flight crew are accidentally knocked out and the autopilot is fried by a lightning strike, meaning that they have to find another way to land the plane. All the bees Barry knows see their predicament on the news and fly to the rescue; their combined strength is sufficient to carry the plane to a safe landing. After they revive all the plants, Vanessa reopens her flower shop and, along with Barry, also provides honey and legal advice.
Although I had seen most of Bee Movie on a few occasions years ago, I don’t know if I’d ever watched it all the way through at one time before yesterday. I went into yesterday’s viewing thinking I’d have a good time and that’s exactly what happened. I still enjoyed the things I remembered and found a lot of new things that made me laugh. The movie’s sense of humor and delivery is right in the sweet spot for my tastes, so I had a blast watching it. Additionally, Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows, so I’m quite familiar with Jerry Seinfeld’s style of comedy and I thought he did a great job as Barry. Renée Zellweger, Patrick Warburton, and everyone else in the movie also gave great performances and made this a fun experience. If you’re in the mood for a funny, lighthearted experience, then check out Bee Movie. It is many things but it definitely isn’t a B movie.