Prospicience, prestidigitation, pulchritude — words so obscure that even spell check underlines them in red pepper. “Akeelah and the Bee,” written and directed by newcomer Doug Atchison, delves into the world of competitive spelling through the fortuitous journey of an 11-year-old girl growing up in south central Los Angeles.
Angela Bassett (“How Stella Got Her Groove Back”) and Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix”) lend credibility and depth to a film generous with genuine, talented child stars, including Keke Palmer as Akeelah Anderson. As Akeelah’s strong yet fear-gripped mother, Tanya (Bassett) carries the weight of portraying family lives in a black community — a portrait that bears on the side of cliche. Akeelah’s teenage sister Kiana (Erica Hubbard) already has a baby on her hip; the good older son is in the military; and the bad younger son falls wayward into the cracks of his environment. Akeelah stands out as the oft-forgotten young prodigy when her English teacher (Dalia Phillips) and the school principal (Curtis Armstrong) push her to enter the first annual school spelling bee so that the school can compete for better funding.
Through her success in the districtwide spelling competition, she meets affluent peers from Woodland Hills and experiences first-hand the racial and socioeconomic tensions between the two parts of town. She forges a friendship with a charming Hispanic boy named Javier (played by delightful J.R. Villarreal), who welcomes her into his world. Akeelah makes the hour-long trek by bus out to the spelling bee in Woodland Hills; her peers feel no tension upon her arrival — except for Dylan Chiu (Sean Michael), a two-time second-place winner at the National Spelling Bee with a stereotypical strict-as-sticks Asian father/coach. The dynamic subplot of friendships forged without prejudice lays a fantastic groundwork for convincing the audience of the underlying social change that is happening through the behavior and attitudes of children. Small actions, portrayed in hilarious scenes, spell out hope and loyalty without boundaries.
Despite its shortcomings in creating a fresh portrayal of racial tensions and socioeconomic class, “Akeelah” succeeds as a feel-good, hopeful, family-friendly film thanks to its young actors. Palmer is skillful and endearing as Akeelah, a girl who cares deeply about her family and her social responsibility. Akeelah engages her whole community with her success; when her coach Dr. Larabee (Fishburne) retracts his help, her mother tells her, “Honey, just look around you. You have 50,000 coaches.” Without bordering on corny or didactic, “Akeelah” leads the pack of spelling bee films by inspiring the audience with frank hope. It also doubles as a study guide for GRE vocabulary.
3.5/5 stars
