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Photo © Lionsgate films
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Akeelah and the Bee
Drama
1hr. 47 mins.
Platforming; April 2006
MPAA: PG
Lionsgate films
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Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong
Directed By: Doug Atchison
Produced By: Nancy Hult Ganis, Sid Ganis, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Romersa, Danny Llewelyn
Screenplay By: Doug Atchison
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Reviewed
By: Wellington Lee
Rated 2.96/5
In a Nutshell:Poignant and upbeat tale about building a community's self worth and hope. One young gifted and disciplined young black girl, at a time. Palmer has the right amount of spunk, and dejection, to take on higher profile works and stars. Fishburne enhances the themes in a no frills performance, as directed. Best of the spate of Spelling bee related works.
Feature Review:
There has been a cornucopia of creative output in recent years, about that singular right of
adolescent schooling: spelling words. Last year's Bee Season( R.Gere/J. Binoche)touched
on that young star's mystical gift.2003 saw the Documentary Spell Bound follow eight kids
competing through their regional finals, with dreams of making it to the Scripps Howard
Nationals in Washington. Something like nine million kids from across this country brave their
fears to stand up in classrooms, and then on auditorium stages, to compete. Freshman
Writer/director Doug Atchison became hooked after watching the finals on ESPN in 1993. He
found parallels of the under represented minorities as finalists, with his own fears of
inadequacy. That unlocked the key to the main character Akeelah, and he hurriedly scribed a
competition winning screenplay. Doug and his wife, with producer Sid Ganis, spent years
raising interest and scant funds, until the documentary and a Broadway play helped line up
financing and distribution(Starbucks Coffee Entern.!; Lion'sGate).
Akeelah is a gifted, otherwise normal 11 year old, who coasts through classes she is interested
in, while getting average or failing marks in others. One brother is in the Airborne, while
the other flirts with recruitment by gangs, and dreams of the perks and power of recorded
rappers. Their single Mom(Angela Bassett)is stressed and has scant support to give. It is as if
this brother and Akeelah, each in their own way, cop an attitude that since nothing really
good comes out of their "hood", why try too hard. Their self esteem and false bravado, ties them
down to familiar, but short and narrow paths. Her homie friend dreams of being a flight attendant. Akeelah satisfies her natural intelligence, by
playing online scrabble, sentimentally looking over to a picture of her deceased Dad, for
reassurance. Her teacher and dogged principal, make this self conscious teen display her
knack for spelling. They have a vision: earn respect by somehow coaching and sending one of their own, from the mostly black,lower socioeconomic Crenshaw middle school; to a regional or maybe, the National Bee.Akeelah’s spelling bee road and the movie, are mapped from
here.
Then eleven yr old star Keke Palmer("Akeelah"),expresses both fear and mock toughness, by
tweaking her eyes and brows, behind those bookish glasses. Palmer("The Wood Hat") exudes an
easiness with the camera, and is especially strong in her close ups. Working beside veterans
Angela Bassett and Fishbourne, should prove to be a career developing experience(and for
freshman Dir. Atchinson). Muscular Bassett, cast as the stressed out, working Mom, plays Tanya tough yet organized. She dishes out discipline and family schedules with little patience or
time for nurture. Bassett's build and striking face command our attention, and she rolls with
the screenplay and direction. Fishbourne reportedly took a pay cut, to be cast as Akeelah's
begrudging mentor: semi retired UCLA prof. Josh Larabee. South L.A.(lower socio
economic),Crenshaw Middle school Principal Welch(character act. Curtis Armstrong),asks this
college friend, to tutor precocious Akeelah in her easy gift: spelling.
Fishbourne is perfectly cast as the reluctant, stern tutor. He brooks no lip from Akeelah, and
she is scripted to seek out this impassive, father figure. Fishbourne knows how to play cold and
tough , but combining that with purposefulness(winning) opposite an 11 yr. old, displays his
mastery.
She has left her flight attendant dreamer, best friend behind, mostly to pass up the mall for study.Akeelah finds more support and tips in this new world, from cherub like, Latino fellow competitor Javier(JR
Villarreal). His prepubescent crush is tame. There is the cliched,overachieving Asian
competitor Dylan, with a driving and publicly rebuking Dad(Tzi Ma).Dylan's belittling(like his
own Dad's)of this non Latin, Greek or etymology trained upstart, soon turns into competition.
Dylan realizes Akeelah could be his main stumbling block, on his third trip to the Scripps
Howard, Washington D.C. National finals(250 kids make it).
"..the Bee" is sentimental, emphasizing and playing to emotions. There are plenty of references
to, and scenes of Akeelah being tutored in, and studying her Latin/Greek, and origins of all
English words(etymology).This little girl's habit of tapping her leg when spelling difficult
words, her Mnemonic(memory aid practice),is barely explored. Likeable Xavier's own mnemonic
practice, would have been interesting and helpful. One of the more inspiring and socially
conscious scenes, show Xavier's, and then Akeelah's, overriding compassion when their fellow
competitors' had an unfair or repressive disadvantage(Dylan's oppressive Dad).Powerful scenes
to model good sportsmanship and rising above doubts and attitude, in the midst of arduous competition.
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