Benny and some of his new friends enter a subway car, where Benny is peer pressured into stealing shoes from a young boy in school uniform. Benny and friends escape on foot.
Meanwhile, Honey auditions for another music video, but after briefly whispering to each other, two men summarily cross her name off the list. Later, Honey and Chaz walk through the park while Honey complains that she has been blackballed from the industry. Chaz reminds Honey that her talent is a gift from God, and deems Michael a "clown."
Back in the hood, Benny is urged by his friends to sell drugs to their next customer driving up in his car. Shockingly, this man reveals himself to be an undercover police officer, and Benny is taken into custody.
Honey pays another visit to her loan officer at the bank, requesting more time to come up with the remainder of the down payment. Unfortunately, the loan officer informs Honey that she has done all she can do, and the property must be put back on the market. |
Excluding Honey and almost any person remotely associated with her, life in the Bronx is a tricky gambit for anyone. In this clip, Honey and Benny join everyone else in the hood by facing some harsh realities, thanks to Honey's selfish decision to not have sex with Michael Ellis.
We immediately see that Benny has returned to a more illicit lifestyle involving shoe theft. Certainly, this is Benny's way of compensating for the impotency of his own feet, now that he has lost the opportunity to dance in Ginuwine's video; indeed, the symbolism at work here is so subtle as to suggest that the young boy's feet might still be in the stolen shoes. Later, as Benny is busted for selling drugs in a scene that dissolves into musical theater staginess, we reflect that even his crimes reveal a true passion for dance.
Like everyone else, Honey must deal with the consequences of her actions, including the fewer opportunities available to her now that Michael is no longer handing her a free career on a silver platter. As yet, Honey has not discovered another director so unprofessional as to overlook her lack of talent long enough to employ her, promote her to choreographer, and wait a few months before trying to have sex with her. Rather than being cast as villains, perhaps the men we see crossing out Honey's name should be given credit for letting water find its own level and not giving a job to someone who doesn't deserve it.
As we have seen Honey's positive outlook tangibly affect her life, shielding her from any misfortune the world might have to offer, so we see the downward spiral in her life reflecting a newly sour attitude: in the previous clip, Honey angrily blamed Michael when her neighborhood kids failed to keep their job. Here, Honey is quick to blame Michael for her newfound unemployability, accusing him of blackballing instead of recognizing just how charitable he really was, as well as appreciating how badly he must have wanted to get in her pants.
On the other hand, of course, we might argue that Honey has nothing to worry about, as she has only botched one audition and she has already earned the personal adoration of every artist she has worked with (including the Tweet). In reality, Michael is sure to find himself in career straits once the footage of him wasting obscene amounts of time and money on a personal grudge hits YouTube, rendering him the David O. Russell of the music video industry as the world gawks at how unprofessional one director can be .
Honey further bemoans her lack of funds to secure the property for her own Centah, obviously expecting more handouts from the loan officer, who sympathizes but firmly rejects Honey's plea for an extension. With the world no longer in the palm of her hand, it would seem Honey has hit rock bottom. Notably, however, Honey remains her own worst enemy: having received a paycheck for over $9,000 for her first job alone, and having worked steadily higher-profile jobs ever since, Honey is clearly horrible at managing her money if she doesn't have that last $8,500 lying around somewhere.
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