I've always been drawn to contests, or rather documentaries about contests or movies about contests. If only this movie had come our earlier, perhaps there would have been a bigger impact, but after the wide success of Spellbound and another movie about a Chinese girl in a spelling bee (ummm...I think there's such a movie), this movie doesn't hold as much weight as it possibly could, however, it's still a damn good movie.
Akeelah has a way with words, or rather a way with letters and putting them together to form words. Her late father gave her that love, but due to her poor status and being in an underprivileged school Akeelah tries to hide her intelligence. However, her principal finds out about her latent skills and urges her to join the local spelling bee, which she wins easily. Although Akeelah may have been happy about her success, her mother wants her to stay about from competitions because she may end up disappointed when she loses. But her principal doesn't want any of that and hires a private tutor to help her memorize words. And so she soars to new heights as she jumps rope and spells her way to the national spelling bee. She learns that she has to take chances even if it means that she could fail, because otherwise she won't ever do anything. And of course she learns that it's great to learn because knowledge is power. It's a great movie and though a little predictable, still heart warming.
Everyone did a superb acting job, especially newcomer Keke Palmer. The interactions are so natural and although the movie itself would seem cliche (poor inter-city girl triumphs despite all odds) the emotion, writing, and directing are all so real and powerful that the story seems new. The movie teaches kids not to be afraid of their intelligence and that everyone doesn't have to succumb to racial stereotypes, but can be somebody completely different. Now although this movie tries to steer clear of stereotypes, Akeelah's biggest rival is a young Asian boy. He's not the stereotype, his father is. His father is a win-at-all-costs kind of Asian man, kind of like how we envision most Asians when it comes to education. But that is perhaps the only stereotype in this movie. There are smaller parts in the movie that seem a bit much, like street hoodlums helping Akeelah study her words and kids playing tossing around a basketball making them either shoot the ball or spell the bird. One kid opts to shoot the ball and, well it doesn't even come close. But I can overlook these elements because the acting is so damn good. True we expect nothing less of Fishburne and Bassett, but Keke Palmer lights up the screen with her energy, wit, and intelligence. She's going to have a great future as an actress. The other child actors are great in their roles as well. Javier (played by JR Villarreal) does great as the “mentor†to Akeelah as he shows her the ropes of the bees and invites her to parties. And Dylan (Sean Michael Afable) is also a great portrayal of the rival who really just doesn't want to be pressured about education by his father anymore. They all portrayed their characters with such enthusiasm and innocence that I think they captured the essence of these characters beautifully.
Since this movie preaches education, I'm sure this is going to be a classroom favorite and hey, it makes studying seem almost cool. It teaches a great lesson to kids that you can be whatever you want so long as you put your mind to it, and to never be afraid of who you are. These are great morals that kids nowadays aren't getting all the time and is probably one of the few movies that are out that isn't a sports movie that teaches kids that hey, being smart isn't something to be ashamed of, you should be proud of it. Not everyone knows how to spell euonymus or ptarmigan. Overall, this is a definite own. Kids will like it because they'll be able to relate to Akeelah or Javier or whoever and parents will like it because it teaches good lessons. And if you're neither, it's simply just one of those feel good movies that is hard to come by nowadays.
"Akeelah and the Bee" opens April 28, 2006 and is rated PG. Drama. Written and directed by Doug Atchison. Starring Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, JR Villarreal, Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne.
