Customer Reviews

Honeydripper

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

John Sayles is a true independant filmmaker who not only finances, directs, edits and writes his movies but often times acts in and writes music for them. For "Honeydripper" Sayles did it all, and he wrote a couple of songs. He has dealt with the African American experience in movies before like: "Brother From Another Planet", "Passion Fish" and "City of Hope", but since most of the characters in "Honeydripper" are black he delves even deeper into the issue and the film is written more like a play with echoes of the work of August Wilson.
It's 1950 in the deep South and Danny Glover's Tyrone is barely making it and his Honeydripper lounge featuring aging blues players can't compete with the popular Jukejoint next door. To make matters worse the Honeydripper is about to close down unless Tyrone can come up with some serious money.
Most of the story revolves around the conflicts and relationships Tyrone has with his wife ( a powerful performance by Lisa Gay Hamilton), his partner (an excellent Charles Dutton), his daughter (a nice debut by model Ya Ya DeCosta), a young musician stranger (effectively played by young bluesman Gary Clark Jr.) and the white sheriff (a tailor made role for Stacey Keach). My favorite character is played by veteran bluesman Keb' Mo', a sort of bluesy greek chorus muse who appears at pivotal times only to Glover and Clark.
Sayles always takes his time developing his characters and the world in which they live, and though it may seem slow at first this lets you begin to care about what will happen to them. A big plus is the terrific music, and except for Glover, it is all played by the actors themselves and surprisingly it was all done live while filming.
Yes the movie, like a play, takes it's time to develop, but the payoff was one of the most uplifting times I've had at the movies in a long while.
I read that Sayles has decided to stop making movies and just write. I'm sure it must be getting harder to get these kinds of movies made and harder still to get them released, unfortunately no one makes movies like John Sayles.

John Sayles, perhaps more than any other American filmmaker, has his finger on the pulse of what make this country special. A gifted storyteller, not one of his films is alike, but hes's at his best when he takes a small moment in time and uses it to explore a major change. EIGHT MEN OUT uses the Black Sox scandal to reflect the loss of innocence of our nation. LONE STAR uses a murder mystery to unearth skeletons long hidden, etc. With HONEYDRIPPER, Sayles latest, he explores the moment Blues Became Electric, opening the door for Rock & Roll, the dominant music of the last half of the 20th Century. He does so in the style of the late August Wilson, using quiet rhythms and essentially one locale to tell the story. In the process, he gets allows his stellar cast to deliver some great performances, including Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Keb Mo, Vondie Curtis-Hall and newcomer YaYa Dacosta, as China Doll. Gary Clark, Jr. is a little stiff in his acting debut, but once he picks up the guitar, he puts a smile on your face. Parts of the story may move a little slow, but Honeydripper's built for comfort, not for speed. Once you know the plot, you'll begin to pick out minor details in the fabric of the film that absolutely glow. Mind you, this is a film that could never be made within the Hollywood studio system, so if you're looking for Rush Hour 3, then move along. But if you like a good story told well or just love the Blues, Honeydripper deserves a spot on your personal video shelf.

Having lived in the south for many years, "Honeydripper" was a nostalgic trip for us. Thought the acting excellent for the most part. Certainly the setting rang true. There is a long wait for the music, but the reward is worth it.

In an era when the southern blues are giving way to rock and roll,
this is a story of a small cotton town.
The young guitar player comes in riding the rails, the older piano player is running (badly) the honeydipper club.
The story is about the coming together of the forces in the town to make something new.
"Time to make way for what is coming next."
I liked the plot and the music here.

I saw Honeydripper last year and really enjoyed it a lot. It isn't your regular hollywood film. I haven't seen many of John Sayles' films but will probably check them out. Don't want to spoil anything, it's a really good film! :)

a great family move, wounderful look into the blues and rock-n-roll era. ther was action adventure history and most important romance.

I was looking for a musical when I came across this and started to watch. Was surprised to find it a story about how music saved a man, his family, his business, and a drifter. It's a very good depiction about the times and the struggles the blacks had and that they could make it by sticking together. I gave it 5 stars only because that's as high as it goes. Oh, and by the way, I'm white.

I had never heard of this movie and happened to catch the tale end one night on HBO. I couldn't find it in the video store. So, like always I thought check Amazon.
There it was and a great prices. This is a great movie about the history of our country. A world our children and their children will never stand by and allow the mis-treatment of another Human, any where and for an Reason.

I got excellent service. I received my order in only a few days. The product was of great quality. It was very easy and convienent.

Yes it was a little slow in parts, but I just couldn't turn it off once it started. I loved the characters and really cared about them. I never was in the rural south during the 50s, although I spent some time in Fort Benning, Georgia in 1951, but it sure felt like I was there during this movie. Danny Glover was made for the part and Stacy Keach was unforgettable as the sheriff. I would put this in a class like "Cinema Paradiso", just a gem of a movie. I loved the music also.