Yet Another Spelling Bee Movie!

Last night, we went to see "Akeelah and the Bee" in a local movie theatre. In 2002, a documentary on spelling bees named "Spellbound" came out. Since that time, I have seen 2 other movies based on spelling bees. Furthermore, ESPN televises the National Spelling Bee finals every year. And I am sure that there have been other TV movies and there has even been a celebrity spelling contest. Enough already!

"Spellbound" is one of my favorite movies of the last several years. I find documentaries to be very compelling, and this is one of the best of them. I was hooked before the opening credits were completed and the movie did not let go of me for several weeks afterwards. "Bee Season" was also excellent. My review can be found here. Unfortunately, "Akeelah and the Bee" is not in the same league with these movies. It is a good, enjoyable film, but not a great film.

As the movie went on, I kept thinking of other reasons to not like the film, yet in the end I found that I was caught up in the movie and enjoyed it. The movie was full of cliches, the roles were all heavily stereotyped, there was little suspense, and the storyline was not really believable. The messages are pounded into you and inspire no thought whatsoever. Despite all of that, the film is inspirational and heart-warming.

Roger Ebert said something interesting in his review "I've often said it's not sadness that touches me the most in a movie, but goodness." I find that this is very true for me as well, I am most likely to become weepy over a scene of altruism and there is plenty of goodness in this movie.



In the lead role of Akeelah Anderson, Keke Palmer was outstanding. Keke recently received a nomination for the best leading actress in the Screen Actors Guild awards for the TV film "The Wool Cap." I have not seen that film, however she gives an excellent performance in this movie. In a movie of heavily stereotyped roles, It is ironic that Akeelah spends much of the movie trying to fight the stereotype of a "brainiac". Keke was very believable and saved the movie for me. By the end of the movie, I was rooting hard for her.



Laurence Fishbourne played Doctor Larrabee, Akeelah's spelling coach. I thought he gave a good but not great acting job. He had a key role as the stern and demanding, yet caring mentor. However, Fishbourne was too cranky and too preachy for my taste. As a result, I never felt any attachment to his character.

In summary, I liked this movie. If you go into the movie with realistic expectations and if you enjoy inspirational, feel-good films, then you will enjoy this movie.