Akeelah and the Bee Review
by [email protected] (johnny_betts AT hotmail DOT com)April 28th, 2006
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Akeelah and the Bee
http://www.themoviemark.com/moviereviews/akeelahandthebee.asp
PLOT
A young girl named Akeelah from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee and soon finds that she has an entire community rooting for her. Spelling ensues.
JOHNNY'S TAKE
Akeelah and the Bee? Considering this is a Lions Gate film, a studio known primarily for their horror films, I initially wondered if this was some sort of weird anime flick. "Is Akeelah a Japanese girl who has to fight a huge bee?" I thought to myself. Maybe I'm making unfair assumptions regarding what Japanese anime is all about, but that was truly my original assumption. So I looked into it and read the plot summary.
When I found out it was about a girl competing in the Spelling Bee I rolled my eyes and hurriedly started trying to find alibis for every single night there was going to be a screening. "Whew, I think I'll pass on that sleeping pill," I arrogantly scoffed.
I simply had zero interest in seeing this film. I did not want to go, not even out of curiosity. But acquaintances and friends kept telling me it was good. Inspiring. Uplifting. Insert your clichéd feel-good quote here.
Well, it was an internal struggle to the bitter end, but I finally (and reluctantly) forced myself to go to the last screening. And you know what? I enjoyed nearly every minute of it. I know; I'm as shocked as you are. Almost as shocked as the time I heard a Billy Bob Thornton song and thought, "Hey, that wasn't that bad."
The movie's funny, it features charming performances from a couple of non-annoying kid actors (Keke Palmer and J.R. Villarreal), it holds your interest, and I'll admit that it lives up to any of the clichéd feel-good quotes you want to attach to it.
I have to tip my hat to any movie that manages to create legitimate tension during Spelling Bee scenes. Whenever Akeelah would slowly work her way through a difficult word during the competition, the audience sat in stone cold silence. As Akeelah finished the word, sighs of relief were heard throughout the theater. I often found myself spelling along with the contestants. Quick note - it's best not to do this out loud.
Sure, there are times when the movie goes for the obvious pulling of the heart strings through the use of soaring music and inspirational speeches, but so what? Plenty of people eat that stuff up, so I can easily let that slide.
I won't go so far as to suggest that you recommend this one on guy's night out because let's face it, that would just be gay and most likely get you banished from the group. However, if your sweetie wants to see it then go ahead and agree. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was. And if you have kids then a movie stressing the importance of education and proper grammar ain't gonna be no hurtin' 'em none.
Oh, and to all my friends and acquaintances who kept telling me I should check the movie out, well, I would like to apologize. Sorry about the "Up yours, fairies." In retrospect, I admit that response was perhaps a bit brusque.
THE GIST
If you're all about family-friendly inspirational films then you'll definitely love Akeelah and the Bee. If you are resisting it, thinking there's no way a movie about a Spelling Bee can be entertaining, well, you just might be surprised. I was.
Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)
Johnny Betts
The Movie Mark
http://www.themoviemark.com
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