Movie Vault

Reviewed by: Kat Babcock

Movies such as Spellbound and the upcoming WordPlay have put forth into our movie going society that being nerdy is a cool thing. Akeelah and the Bee, is about an 11-year-old black girl (Keke Palmer) from the projects who defies all odds to reach the white-dominated national spelling bee. For the most part, Akeelah and The Bee is a traditional, heartwarming feel good story about an underdog trying to overcome the odds and achieve fantastic victory, while also winning over an entire community inspired by her bravery.

Akeelah And The Bee writer-director Doug Atchison puts a fictional spin on the wordsploitation boom by plugging all the magic and wonder of precocious, adorable children spelling difficult words into the time-tested plucky-underdog-beats-the-odds template. He’s given all those kids who never thought they’d have an idol beyond Steven Hawkings, their own Karate Kid to look up.

But the script piles on so many characters and subplots that a big chunk of its third act is devoted to a series of drive-by resolutions which tidily wrap up every last story strand and relationship. The climactic showdown (what, you didn’t think she’d make it all the way to nationals?) deviates from the formula when it counts most. The outcome depends not on who will win the bee, necessarily – but on our young heroine’s moral and ethical choice. When’s the last time you saw that in a so-called “family film?”

© Kat Babcock, June 22, 2006.