Directed by Doug Atchison
Written by Doug Atchison
Starring Keke Parker, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Runtime: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated G

Evaluation: 10/10
by Greg Ferguson







Every school-aged child should see Akeelah And The Bee. For that matter, many adults would do well to watch it too. Here is a film centred around an unusually bright 11-year-old girl and about a subject as narrow and uncinematic as spelling bees that reaches deep to reveal truths about confidence and self-improvement shared by all of us in every walk of life. It is a family film in the best sense, reserving its pleasures neither for young or old but both. As great as that sounds, though, I know what some of you are thinking: yet another preachy, sugar-coated, feel-good message movie to pass on. To that, I say writer/director Doug Atchison gets it, wisely trading such ineffective banalities for a useful and realistic portrayal of the emotional and socioeconomic hurdles that exist for those who desire to pursue their talents. Yet, Akeelah is feel-good in that it rightfully values learning and celebrates personal excellence. It ranks among the greatest family films I have ever seen.

Context is established early on. Akeelah (Keke Parker) attends an impoverished inner-city middle school in Los Angeles where the urban decay of gang violence and other crime has ravaged her neighbourhood and robbed her of her father, leaving her weary mother (Angela Bassett) alone to provide for her four children. The climate is a depressing one, and it is of little comfort to her that she possesses a greater vocabulary than most when this fact only draws negative attention. Still, she is secretly tantalized by the thought of participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, though she holds back, prisoner to her insecurities. It isn't until her principal (Curtis Armstrong) recommends she give it a shot and she wins her school's inaugural bee that Akeelah finally begins to see her dreams materialize and awakens to a world where others like her exist.

Atchison's strongest material comes from Akeelah's sustained relationship with her coach and surrogate father-figure, Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne). A UCLA professor and former Scripps participant himself, Larabee instructs Akeelah on specific mental strategies and tricks, but moreover instills an added appreciation for the words being taught because she will remember them better if they mean something to her. Their entire season together is rigorous in discipline but ultimately endearing and character-building. How fortunate that he should come along when she most needs mentoring, intent on seeing her develop not just as an exceptional speller but as an empowered young person in control of her own destiny - a sentiment at the root of all education, at every stage of life, but often lost amidst the many demands of modern society.

What makes Akeelah so marvelous is that it recognizes intelligence in children and has hope for adults, challenging us all to take ownership of our lives and find meaning and purpose in it. Part of this purpose is mutual support and, yes, love for one another - nicely embodied by the allowance for co-champions at the Scripps Bee, which helps downplay adversarial hostility, but evident throughout the film. Though it may strike many as gentle and fantastical fluff, Akeelah is a sincerely resonant work of heedless optimism. That Akeelah's journey inspires the people she encounters in her neighbourhood to support her, and in turn make the most of their own lives, is a glorious affirmation of faith sorely in need of being spread. "Fifty-thousand people willing to help," she says; I suspect in reality she would not be far off the mark.

(The 79th Scripps National Spelling Bee will once again be held in Washington, DC, on May 31 and June 1, 2006. 275 spellers will participate in this competition. For the first time in the NSB's history, ABC will broadcast the championship rounds during primetime from 9-11pm AST.)

(Akeelah And The Bee is currently playing at the Empire 8, Trinity Drive cinema, located at 125 Trinity Drive in Moncton.)