MOVIE REVIEWS
Akeelah and the Bee
Nathan Lim
Every spring, precocious spellers across the U.S. gather at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. to participate in the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee. It has become an unbelievably popular American event. How popular? Well, early this year, the championship round of the event was broadcasted by ABC on its PRIME-TIME SLOT. Obscure words like kookaburra and antediluvian being painfully spelled by snotty, little kids never cease to intrigue me, and the tournament certainly did not cease to amaze Doug Atchinson, writer and director of Akeelah and the Bee, a heartfelt, underdog story about an eleven-year-old girl from South Los Angeles who strives to win the National Spelling Bee.
Yes, the film’s plot is cliched; yes, the ending is predictable; and despite all that, I still love the film! Honestly, when I handpicked the DVD off the shelf of Hollywood Video, I desperately yearned for a simple, feel-good story. And that was exactly what I got!
In her opening voiceover, Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) raises a profound question, “You know that feeling where no matter what you do, or where you go you just don’t fit in?” She feels out of place in her middle school, not because she lacks beauty, style, or personality; she feels out of place because she is the smartest girl in her lackluster school. So she hides her intelligent disposition, unsuccessfully.
This is where the spelling guru, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) comes into the film. Only he can guide her through the ambivalences and intricacies of the English language; he was once a prolific speller back in his day. In one of the most inspirational scenes ever, Dr. Larabee asks Akeelah to read aloud what is on a plaque that hangs in his office. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure,” Akeelah says with refreshing wonderment. Stuff like that just “kills” me.
Akeelah and the Bee accurately portrays the diverse social make-up of Los Angeles. Akeelah’s neighborhood is inhabited by Blacks and Hispanics who are below the city’s median income level. When arriving at a birthday party in Woodland Hills, Akeelah’s best friend Georgia refuses to step out of the car after seeing rich White kids hanging out on the lawn.
My biggest problem with the film is the ending, which is too politically correct. For the sake of not spoiling it, I’m not going to go any further. I rolled my eyes when I saw the ending, but my heart was still fluttering, an abnormal reaction which I took as a good thing.
Unfortunately, my favorite aspect of DVDs-the director’s commentary-is absent here. A chapter of the bonus special presents some interesting inside look at how the film almost did not get made and the eleven-year-old Keke Palmer, who will be a force to be reckon with in the years to come. The film would not be as outstanding if Palmer had not played the lead role.
I dare raise the question as to why Akeelah and the Bee did not gross over $20 million at box office, even though the film was co-promoted by the colossal company Starbucks. It is a wonderful family film that would put a smile on anybody’s face. Perhaps the Cineplex’s have become too damn expensive these days to take a family of four or more. I hope this overlooked picture will do well in the DVD sales and rentals. Justice must prevail!
So go to the local video store and pick this one up. It is the least you can do.
