Check Out the Trailer

Ever since the documentary SPELLBOUND was released there has been a resurgence of interest in spelling bees. In 2005, BEE SEASON was released, which prompted the studio behind AKEELAH AND THE BEE to wait to 2006 to release this film, which is a magnificent achievement.

Director/writer Doug Atchison finds amazing ways to take the inherent structure of the competition and build real tension and drama by crafting real multilayered characters around the action. Akeelah (Keke Palmer, MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION) is a smart 11-year-old who lives in the poor Crenshaw area of Los Angeles. She often hides her intelligence behind “ghetto talk” so that the other girls won’t call her a brainiac. She is uninterested in participating in the school’s spelling bee, but is all but blackmailed into it by her principal Mr. Welch (Curtis Armstrong, REVENGE OF THE NERDS). Mr. Welch wants to get Akeelah to the National Spelling Bee as good PR for the failing school. He enlists his old college friend Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne, SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER), the former head of the English department at UCLA, to train Akeelah.

The environment in which Akeelah lives makes it very difficult to focus on school, which leads her to summer school for skipping classes. Her mother Tanya (Angela Bassett, WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?) is at her wits end trying to make ends meet for her family. He oldest son Devon (Lee Thompson Young, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) has joined the military and serves as a good influence on Akeelah, but Tanya’s other children are more of a challenge. Kiana (Erica Hubbard, SAVE THE LAST DANCE) is a teenage mother and Terrence (Julito McCullum, TV’s THE WIRE) is a wanna-be gang-banger.

Dr, Larabee is reluctant to tutor Akeelah at first because he is unsure whether she has the commitment it takes to really have a shot at the national title. As the film moves from the regionals to the states to the national championship, the film finds fresh ways to provide tension and keep us guessing. Through the spelling bees, Akeelah befriends Javier (J.R. Villarreal), a smart, funny kid from the wealthy Woodland Hills section of L.A. Akeelah’s new friends make her best friend Georgia (Sahara Garey) feel left out.

The film does an excellent job of portraying the intimidating divide between rich and poor when it comes to education. Each character is developed with their own motivations and hang-ups. The film amazingly breaks down all clichés even with Akeelah’s biggest advisory Dylan Chiu (Sean Michael, THE SCORPION KING), whose father (Tzi Ma, THE QUIET AMERICAN) is a domineering figure that pushes his son relentlessly to win.

Keke Palmer is a revelation. She is a remarkable young performer who brings great depth and emotional sincerity to the part. You like her instantly. Fishburne plays his tormented teacher with an awkward confidence. In his element he is king, but he must keep a great deal of control over everything in his life just to get by. Bassett brings depth and truth to her character, raising a performance that could have been a train wreck of clichés in the hands of a lesser actor. Adding the right comedic touch to the film is young Villarreal; his quick thinking at the state bee is hilarious.

The ending is amazing. Atchison sets the story going in one direction then flips it back again, opening up an even more compelling conclusion. Comparisons to the magnificent SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER cannot be avoided. As that film ranks in the very top of films from 1993, AKEELAH AND THE BEE will most certainly be up at the top of the 2006 best lists as well.