Back in 1973 there was Sidney Lumet's formidable "Serpico." Al Pacino played a New York cop who refused to go on the take, even though the entire department around him appeared to be looting society.

Sure, there were previous good cop/bad cop flicks—hey, noir's full of 'em. And since "Serpico" there have been dozens of similar dramas, but very few in the same league. The great ones? "The French Connection" and "L.A. Confidential" come to mind.

And no, the "Dirty Harry" and "Lethal Weapon" franchises are neither good cop/bad cop flicks nor serious drama. Great entertainment, absolutely—but hardly dramatic fare.

Even Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning "The Departed" fell short in my opinion. Yes, I'm a Scorsese fan, but "The Departed" seemed forced in some areas, lacking in others. As did "Training Day" (another Oscar-winner) and last month's "Righteous Kill." A tough genre to master, it would seem.

Also this year, Ben Affleck directed brother Casey in the memorable "Gone Baby Gone," about a Boston P.I.—but the good cop/bad cop rules were cleverly in play. And if you saw it, tell me you didn't mull that ending a few dozen times, trying to get it right in your brain.

Meaning that great cop dramas stand out in a crowded field of mostly poor or mediocre efforts. Well-intentioned, perhaps, but not memorable.

While "Pride and Glory" is a film that feels well-intentioned, it also feels 30 minutes too long and most likely cut to shreds—there's too much missing, too little continuity, too many little pieces flying around looking for coherence. Despite a great cast (Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, Jon Voight), "Pride and Glory" ends up far too superficial, far too mundane.

This is the story of a family of police officers whose moral codes are corrupted by greed. The problem is, we quickly know who's the good cop, who's the bad cop and who's the cop caught in the middle. But why one is good, one is bad and one is so caught in the headlights isn't fully or even rationally explained. Motivations are blurry, actions unrealistic. Director Gavin O'Connor seems to be reaching, but mostly in the wrong directions.

Oh, and the really, really stupid fistfight near the film's disjointed climax? It's a scene right out of Screenwriting 101, a silly, supposedly macho confrontation. CUT TO: a boffo ending. But in reality, it's just another emptyhanded grope at mediocrity.

In rural North Carolina in 1964, 14-year-old Lily (Dakota Fanning) is running away from her intolerant father, pushed by memories of her mother's accidental death and by the fear that she is an "unlovable" child. Lily and Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), the caregiver who accompanies her, find their way to the PeptoBismol pink house of the Boatwright sisters, August, June and May (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo), beekeepers who successfully produce their own honey.

There's a hint of mystique in Lily's infatuation with the Boatwrights—a tenacious, yet uncertain need to stay and find the love that she believes has escaped her life. Yet Lily is a minor and Rosaleen's in trouble with the law, and in the South, the newly legislated Civil Rights Act is fanning the embers of tenuous change, crumbling generations of segregation.

Lily is colorblind and quickly finds comfort amid the quirky Boatwrights. But her past begins to encroach upon her newfound happiness . . . which is probably a good place to end plot-surfing. "The Secret Life of Bees" is one of those movies you really should know little about—other than this tender, intelligent fable is a drama-lover's delight.

The cast (including Paul Bettany as Lily's loveless father) is sterling. If there were an Oscar for Best Ensemble Film, the buzz (sorry, couldn't resist) would be all about "Bees."

There's very little wrong with this tale, and nothing a hanky or two won't fix—and if you can overlook a few coincidences, a few puzzle pieces perhaps falling too easily into place (I did), the resulting journey is most memorable. It's a coming-of-age tale (and not only Lily's; in a sense, the entire country's in the racial turmoil of the mid-'60s). Yeah, it's about race, but it's more about love. And, I guess, sometimes love hurts.

Even if you suspect where this one might end up, you really don't mind getting there. The journey's worth it. And bees really do have a secret life. Don't want to get stung? asks August Boatwright. Send the bees your love. Sage advice for all of us.