Spelling bees are all the buzz right now. Four years ago, the documentary Spellbound gave us a gaggle of eccentric, word-obsessed children—and their sometimes even more eccentric parents. Last year, Bee Season gave us a rather strange but visually inventive dysfunctional-family drama steeped in Kabbalistic mysticism. And now, Akeelah and the Bee gives us the uplifting after-school special about a girl from a bad neighborhood who rises above her circumstances with the help of a few grown-ups who believe in her.

The new movie is every bit as clichéd and predictable as you'd expect, but thanks to some fine performances, especially from the young leads, it is quite watchable. Keke Palmer is especially convincing as the frustrated but easily intimidated Akeelah Anderson, an 11-year-old who knows she's smart but is afraid to let it show, even when the teachers encourage her, because it will mean further mockery and ostracism from her so-called peers.

Keke Palmer stars as Akeelah Anderson, a smart-but-shy 11-year-old

Keke Palmer stars as Akeelah Anderson, a smart-but-shy 11-year-old

Akeelah loves words because her late father did, before he became yet another victim of the streets; to honor him, she plays Scrabble games with his photo. She gets some moral support from her eldest brother when he's home from his stints with the Air Force, but the rest of her family is a set of inner-city obstacles waiting to be overcome: an overworked mother, Tanya (Angela Bassett), who objects to Akeelah's ambitions more often than not; a brash older sister, Kiana (Erica Hubbard), with an illegitimate baby; and another brother whose, uh, activities outside the home are never really spelled out—but if he wears expensive watches and attracts the attention of the police, they probably aren't all that good.

Angela Bassett as Tanya, Akeelah's mother

Angela Bassett as Tanya, Akeelah's mother

School isn't much better. Like a lot of smart kids, Akeelah has skipped a grade and is still so uninvolved in her classes that she has begun to skip those, too. But when her principal (Curtis Armstrong, of Revenge of the Nerds and Better Off Dead) hears that she gets perfect scores on her spelling tests, he uses her absenteeism to blackmail her into taking part in the school's first-ever spelling bee—which he has cooked up in the hope that it will bring attention and, more importantly, funds to his neglected and dilapidated facility.

As she anticipated, Akeelah's opponents in that first spelling bee are unmotivated and easily defeated, and the event is attended by fellow students who make fun of her. But it is also attended by Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), an old college chum of the principal's who knows a thing or two about words himself—and he volunteers to train Akeelah as she goes on, reluctantly, to compete at the higher levels. At first Larabee comes across like Morpheus's nerdy younger brother, peppering Akeelah's lessons with philosophical asides and declaring that she has what it takes to be a champion, et cetera; but as we get to know him, the film begins to humanize him, and we learn that his is a wounded soul, too.

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Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) teaches Akeelah about words, and more

Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) teaches Akeelah about words, and more

Most significantly, by going to spelling bees in posher neighborhoods and hanging out with her fellow contestants, Akeelah makes some new friends. Chief among these is Javier (J.R. Villarreal), who brings a nicely comic touch to the proceedings, especially when he stalls for time at one event so that an absent Akeelah will not miss a turn and therefore be disqualified. ("Could you use it in a song?" he asks, after exhausting all the questions he is normally allowed to ask once the judges have given him a word.) Not everyone welcomes Akeelah, though. The competitive Dylan (Sean Michael Afable) gives her nothing but scorn, and his stern father (Tzi Ma) looms in the background during a birthday-party Scrabble game like the villain in one of those casino scenes the James Bond movies used to have.

To its credit, Akeelah and the Bee is truly interested in celebrating excellence. Where a film like, say, Take the Lead pays lip service to the pursuit of excellence but panders to its young audience by letting the students take over the ballroom, dancing to their music on their terms, Akeelah and the Bee shows how its protagonist grows by following the rules and living up to them, not by changing them. Instead of street slang, Larabee insists that Akeelah use correct grammar and only those words that appear in the dictionary—and when she seems to deviate from this policy, she can show that she is still playing by the book. She becomes a better person by mastering the game, not overwhelming it.

Javier (JR Villareal) and Akeelah hit it off at the bee.

Javier (JR Villareal) and Akeelah hit it off at the bee.

In addition, the film has some positive things to say about the ways in which communities can band together and support people, though it does take a few implausibly sudden character reversals to get there. Some viewers might also appreciate that the film has few, if any, outright bad guys; all of the children—even those who seem like cheaters at first—turn out to be surprisingly honest and resolute about playing fair, especially at times when, from a storytelling point of view, it is very convenient for them to be so scrupulous. For these and other reasons, writer-director Doug Atchison's movie isn't all that believable, yet it also feels like the sort of thing you'd want to show to your average ten-year-old, who just might conclude that if everybody's doing it, then maybe being good isn't so bad.

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Talk About It

  Discussion starters
  1. Have you ever been afraid to show your talents, like Akeelah? How have you been able to show them? Did someone help you? Are you still waiting for someone to help you? Do you need to wait? How can you help other people to develop their own talents?

  2. Larabee has Akeelah read a statement written by secular "spirituality" guru Marianne Williamson: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. . . . We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us." Do you agree? Is the glory of God manifested in any of these characters? Which ones?

  3. Did you find this story believable? Did you find the characters believable? Which did you find more believable, the characters or the story? Why? If you did not find either of these things believable, did it affect whether you found the story uplifting or not?



The Family Corner

For parents to consider

Akeelah and the Bee is rated PG for some language—basically a four-letter word or two that seem to have been put into the script simply to avoid a G rating. A precocious boy kisses a girl and then asks if she will sue him for sexual harassment. And the theme of the film is expressed, a couple times, through an Oprah-esque self-empowerment quote from Marianne Williamson, an author who preaches spirituality without religion.




What Other Critics Are Saying
compiled by Josh Hurst

from Film Forum, 05/11/06

Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk) says: "Overcoming obstacles. Feeling like an outsider looking in. Coping with the prejudices of others. These are all common cinematic themes, but when well executed, they can result in stirring entertainment. Such is the case with Akeelah and the Bee, a rousing story of how one young girl discovers a special talent and seeks to fulfill her intellectual potential."

from Film Forum, 05/04/06

Who knew that spelling was a spectator sport? With a kindly salute to the non-athletic intellectuals out there, Hollywood has been producing a surprising amount of films centered around competitive spelling—first the irresistible documentary Spellbound, then last year's dour Bee Season, and now Akeelah and the Bee, an inspiring and family-friendly flick that seems to spell fun for moviegoers of all ages.

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Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) has similar sentiments: "Writer-director Doug Atchison handles Akeelah's journey of self-discovery and growing empowerment deftly and builds suspense on the way to a satisfying if unabashedly formulaic conclusion."

Christopher Lyon (Plugged In) says it's a gem: "[Director Doug] Atchison has crafted a moving, even inspirational winner of a film. It's not that Akeelah and the Bee treads unique territory. The plot mostly follows the Rocky template, as our hero overcomes impossible odds for her shot at unlikely glory. In fact, things get downright corny at several key moments. But I didn't care at all. The story had me, and it kept working right up to the end."

Mainstream critics generally give Bee passing marks.

Akeelah and the Bee
Our Rating
2½ Stars - Fair
Average Rating
 
(11 user ratings)ADD YOURSHelp
Mpaa Rating
PG (for some language)
Genre
Directed By
Doug Atchison
Run Time
1 hour 52 minutes
Cast
Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer
Theatre Release
April 28, 2006 by Lions Gate Films
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