Review of The Secret Life of Bees

I went to see the movie "The Secret Life of Bees" over the weekend and I was just blown away by the stellar performances of all the actresses! I was especially blown away by one performance in particular and that was the performance of Sophie Okenedo (May Boatwright)--she is just a "power house" actress! I am a fellow southerner (Alabama) so this movie really was relatable for me. All three of the Boatwright sisters held a special southern quality that as a black female I grew up around. August (Queen Latifah) had the strength, maturity, business sense, kindness & "southern hospitality", June (Alicia Keyes) had the proud "no-nonsense" attitude, and May (Sophie Okenedo) had the home-skills, innocence, gentleness, along with wisdom beyond her years which was so endearing which could also be said of June because she possessed what we call "mother wit". They all three were refined and cultured. In my small town quite a few black people's homes had a piano or some type of musical instrument (whether you were rich, middle-class, or poor) or people in your family had some sort of musical or singing ability and this storyline was no exception. Dakota Fanning's character (Lily) and Jennifer Hudson's character (Rosaleen) quickly soaked this in like a sponge because as they both admitted "they had never met negro women who were so cultured" ended up rubbing a little off on Jennifer Hudson. And let's not forget the men in this movie--they were terrific also! Thanks to Jada Pinkett-Smith for bringing this story to the big screen! I encourage everyone to go out and see this movie and like me you will shed a tear or two (and I am usually not an emotional person)but if you don't then you need to check the "batteries" in your tear ducts because they may be "expired".