Greetings,
Well, as I said in my last post, I am hoping for good things in 2015. Therefore, what better way to put that into motion than to do a review of a very good movie. Yes, it is quite fun to rake a terrible movie over the coals, but it also makes me warm and fuzzy inside to give praise to a movie that actually tries. Tries and succeeds, in this case. So, no more waiting. Let's talk about Akeelah and the Bee.
Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 family film about a smart, young girl with a troubled life who has a huge goal to accomplish. Our titular character, Akeelah Anderson, played by the adorable and gifted Keke Palmer, is 11-years-old, attending a middle school that does not excite her. By that, I mean she is very intelligent and the school does not challenge her, so it appears that she just doesn't care about her education. The truth is she cares a lot; she's just bored. Actually, a teacher notices that she excels at spelling and asks her to compete in the school's spelling bee. She is cheered on by her friennd, Georgia, played by Sahara Garey, but is also mocked by some bullies. It is here that she meets Dr. Joshua Larabee, played by Laurence Fishbourne. YAY! Dr. Larabee is a friend of Akeelah's principal, Mr. Welch, played by great character actor Curtis Armstrong, and he is also someone who competed in spelling bees in his youth. He did very well in them, actually, and he is brought on to coach her and hopefully get her to the National Spelling Bee, which would help the school.
Unfortunately, Akeelah's mother is not sure she should be worrying about that when she has real school work to deal with. And her mother is played by Angela Bassett. YAY...AGAIN! I guess I should about home life for Akeelah's home life. Well, there is the aforementioned mother, and sadly, her father was killed when she was younger. She also has three older siblings: Devon, played by the sorely missed Lee Thompson Young, who is in college but also training to be an air force pilot or something, Kiana, played by Erica Hubbard, who is living at home with her baby, and Terrence, played by Julito McCullum, who is starting to hang around some shady characters in the neighborhood and getting into trouble. You can tell that the mother, Tanya, is trying her best with her family, but she is clearly exhausted. So, she seems to think Akeelah's hopes with the bee are nothing more than a distraction and a pipe dream. Akeelah understands this, but she still continues on with it.
So most of the film, as you may have guessed, follows Akeelah through her spelling bee adventure. And it's a good adventure, because we get some more great characters with it. First, there's Javier Mendez, played by J.R. Villarreal. He becomes a good friend to Akeelah as well as a confidante as he has done a lot of spelling bees in the past. And, wow, do I love this kid? He was hilarious, and their friendship was so sweet. Loved the whole thing. Then, there's Dylan Chiu, played by Sean Michael Afable. He's the oldest of the three and has competed twice in the National Bee, coming in second both times. So, he is very motivated to win, and his father is very...motivating. Yeah, his dad, who is played by another great character actor, Tzi Ma, is very hard on Dylan. In turn, that has kind of made Dylan develop a very hard personality, shutting people out, even potential friends. And if I may be so bold to make a suggestion. If you are ever subjected to the terrible acting of the youngsters in The Last Airbender, this would be a good brain scrubber, as well as serving to give you back your hope about child actors.
Anyway, the whole time she's going through this thing, we see how it starts to have an effect on everyone around Akeelah. Her family, her school, her entire community. Even the town "bad guy" Derrick T, played by Eddie Steeples, takes notice. And all of that has an effect on her. Naturally. I love the way they handle this part of the film. You never think she's really giving up, but you understand her fears as the hopes of so many people start resting on her. It's clearly something she didn't expect, but eventually she sees the good in this, as it is bringing people together. And Keke acts in these scenes so beautifully, with all the chops of someone much older than herself.
Now I won't tell you how this all ends, because it's probably not what you will be expecting. I certainly wasn't. But there is something that does not happen that I think was a wise choice. Again, I won't say what it is, but you'll most likely be able to guess it. I will tell you this, though. Some people may think it was sappy, but Akeelah gives a lovely voice over at the end of the film. It brings tears to my eyes every time. So, if you get a little misty as well, you are not alone.
So, I think I should talk about my favorite part of the film, which is the relationship between Akeelah and Dr. Larabee. At first glance, it seems to follow the path you would expect. In the beginning, they don't get along very well. He even tells her that if she cannot speak properly, she will not speak at all around him. Yeah, I think, at that point, I simply froze with widened eyes, staring at Mr. Fishbourne, and the only words I could manage to utter after he made that statement was "Marry me?" But moving on. After the initial tension, they become closer and the symbolism that he is becoming a father figure will not be lost on anyone. And, of course, though he is the teacher, he will learn something from her, as well. Still, it's all about the execution and the chemistry between the actors. Well, no problem with any of that here. The story is extremely well-written, and Keke and Laurence work so amazingly well together. It's almost unbelievable.
Oh, and speaking of chemistry, the answer is yes. Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishbourne are still fantastic acting partners, too. Did we expect any less?
In conclusion, this is a stellar family movie. It's touching and funny and very uplifting, without being overbearing with any message. I would actually consider it one of the best family movies I've ever seen. Even though, throughout all the spelling bee competitions I had to watch in this thing, it got to a point where I just said, "No! You totally made that word up!" I mean, I consider myself to be well read, but no word's letter count should be higher than room temperature. But, seriously, Akeelah and the Bee is wonderful. In fact, I think if more films were made like this, I would have far less to complain about in the cinematic world. And you know what? I'm okay with that!
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
