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The Secret Life of Bees

Play trailer 2:27 Poster for The Secret Life of Bees PG-13 2008 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 139 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Haunted by memories of her late mother and abused by her father (Paul Bettany), 14-year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) runs away with her friend and caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) to the South Carolina town that holds the key to her mother's past. There, Lily meets the Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo), who take her in and teach her about beekeeping, honey, and the Black Madonna. Lily also discovers that the truth about her mother is closer than she thinks.
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Critics Consensus

The Secret Life of Bees has moments of charm, but is largely too maudlin and sticky-sweet.

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Critics Reviews

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Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online Sep 12, 2017
B-
The story was okay, but I think there was an underlying mammy factor that rubbed me the wrong way. Go to Full Review Eddie Cockrell Sydney Morning Herald Mar 6, 2009
2/5
Glossy yet ultimately shallow, this platitudinous, unconvincing drama makes The Colour Purple look like Mississippi Burning. Go to Full Review David Stratton At the Movies (Australia) Mar 6, 2009
2/5
On most levels the film, which has a surprising number of unconvincing details, takes the sugary option; it shies away from the harsher realities whenever possible. Go to Full Review Stella Papamichael Radio Times Mar 16, 2024
3/5
Like the rank and file of bees, everyone has their place here and they work towards an end product that is sweet but best enjoyed by children. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Sep 5, 2023
3/4
The Secret Life of Bees is a pleasant little film that reduces overwhelming ideas into light emotional drama. Go to Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sep 22, 2020
3.5/4.0
A wonderful film for families. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Sep 7, 2026 The Secret Life of Bee's = a *3.5* star movie See more Chris B @Papa13070 May 12, 2026 The Secret Life Of Bees is a movie of what you call a "tearjerker" and that's what it is, the movie will touch your heart and teaches you about life, care, love & forget about your horrible past and move on. As for performances, everyone delivers and a couple of Oscar-worthy ones too. Dakota Fanning and Sophie Okonedo are the ones that delivers the Oscar-worthy performances. Come Oscars season, don't be surprised if any of those both actresses will be in the envelope (they deserved to get those nods!!) Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson delivered their best performances yet . As for the supporting actors: Bettany, Parker and Wilds, they did great as well. See more Gisell A. @deadpoolgirl Oct 15, 2025 Just had a very good hook, but the story plot got lost trying to accommodate additional character arcs that didn’t add anything to the main story plot. It had a great cast…sadly they were just for show… Alicia keys didn’t even sing. See more thiago s @Thiagostone Sep 18, 2025 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Barney F @RT12239810 Mar 1, 2025 I guess I just didn’t like Hilarie Burton’s character See more Kaelyn S @RT84522154 Jan 20, 2025 do not watch if you don’t wanna cry fifty million times See more Read all reviews
The Secret Life of Bees

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Cast & Crew

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Gina Prince-Bythewood

Director

Queen Latifah

August Boatwright

Dakota Fanning

Lily Owens

Jennifer Hudson

Rosaleen

Alicia Keys

June Boatwright

Sophie Okonedo

May Boatwright

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The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees: Trailer 1 The Secret Life of Bees: Trailer 1 2:27 Now Playing View more videos
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The Secret Life of Bees

Paul Bettany as T-Ray Owens in "The Secret Life of Bees." Tristan Wilds as Zachary and Dakota Fanning as Lily in "The Secret Life of Bees." Queen Latifah as August, Jennifer Hudson as Rosaleen and Alicia Keys as June in "The Secret Life of Bees." Queen Latifah as August and Dakota Fanning as Lily in "The Secret Life of Bees." Dakota Fanning as Lily and Queen Latifah as August in "The Secret Life of Bees." Queen Latifah as August Boatwright, Sophie Okonedo as May Boatwright, Jennifer Hudson as Rosaleen, Alicia Keys as June Boatwright and Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens in "The Secret Life of Bees." Director Gina Prince-Bythewood (foreground) and author Sue Monk Kidd on the set of "The Secret Life of Bees." Nate Parker as Neil and Alicia Keys as June in "The Secret Life of Bees." Dakota Fanning (top) as Lily and Jennifer Hudson as Rosaleen in "The Secret Life of Bees." The Secret Life of Bees (2008) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Haunted by memories of her late mother and abused by her father (Paul Bettany), 14-year-old Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) runs away with her friend and caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) to the South Carolina town that holds the key to her mother's past. There, Lily meets the Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo), who take her in and teach her about beekeeping, honey, and the Black Madonna. Lily also discovers that the truth about her mother is closer than she thinks.
Director
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner, James Lassiter, Will Smith, Joe Pichirallo
Screenwriter
Gina Prince-Bythewood, Sue Monk Kidd
Distributor
Fox
Production Co
Donners' Company, Overbrook Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Material|Some Violence)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 17, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$37.8M
Runtime
1h 50m
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