I read Secret Life of Bees about five years ago, and the fact that the only details I remember are a little white girl, honey, and the South should indicate how much it actually impacted me. But maybe that will make the story all the more exciting when/if I go see the movie in theaters. It stars Dakota Fanning (as the little white girl I remembered!) and Jennifer Hudson (as the little white girl's nanny…it's coming back to me now). Their characters run away from home to stay with three sisters — Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okonedo. Poor Fanning and Okonedo must have felt left out, not having a record deal and all.

As for J-Hud — why do her post-Oscar film roles seem to require her to sound kind of slow? But as long as her name's not Louise from St. Louis who's in love with Louis Vuitton, I can't complain. [BV]