Cool News
Capone Spell Checks AKEELAH AND THE BEE!!
Hey, all. Capone checking back in with you on a film I haven't seen much (if
any) coverage on on AICN.
Instead people have wasted their fingers typing
about the piece of shit known as RV, a film I've seen and refuse to discuss
at length. My colleagues have done a fine job warning you. I'm sure that in
history there has been a worse film made, but I'm drawing a blank trying to
think of one. If you want something to take the kiddies to (or even grown
folks; there's plenty here for both), try Akeelah and the Bee. Read on...
Now here's a novel idea: a feel-good movie that actually made me feel really
good. I'm not sure what it is about films that feature children spelling
words most adults will never use in the course of their entire lives, but
they sure do seem to be popular. The only reason the 2002 documentary
Spellbound didn't win the Oscar that year was that it was up against Michael
Moore's Bowling for Columbine. Last year's abysmal Bee Season also features
a young girl destined for greatness as a master speller, but the film was
buried in so much mysticism and artificial family drama that it lost me
early in. And playing at Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre right now is the
well-received musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." And now
we have Akeelah and the Bee from writer-director Doug Atchison (whose last
film was called The Pornographer; how exactly did he get this job?). While
Akeelah doesn't come close to touching the real-life tension and drama of
Spellbound, it's still a remarkable piece of work about a young, inner-city
girl with a gift, who struggles not only to succeed but also to get past her
own fear of sticking out and appearing too intelligent.
This may seem like a ridiculous thing to worry about, but in the school and
Southern Los Angeles community where Akeelah (newcomer Keke Palmer, recently
seen in Madea's Family Reunion) lives, being singled out for your smarts is
cause for mockery. It becomes clear early on that, if trained by an expert,
Akeelah will have no problem holding her own in a championship spelling bee.
What she must overcome is peer pressure and name-calling, which, for a
pre-teen girl, may be the hardest obstacle of all. Although Akeelah is
encouraged by the school faculty to fulfill her obvious destiny as a
competitive speller (a gift her late and much-missed father first tapped
into), she is hesitant because her family is in turmoil thanks to a
struggling mother (Angela Bassett) and older brother who is beginning to
keep company with drug dealers.
Akeelah decides to keep her competitions a secret from her mother, and
begins serious training with a local professor and former bee champion
Joshua Larabee (a nicely subdued Laurence Fishburne), who has his own
reasons for teaching this sometimes-unruly girl. The film doesn't offer many
surprises as Akeelah rises through the ranks of California-based contests
and eventually makes her way to the nationals, but it makes up for this by
giving us some surprisingly interesting characters that enter Akeelah¹s
life, including fellow bee competitors Roman (George Hornedo) and the
ice-cold Dylan (Sean Michael), an Asian student whose overbearing father has
made the quest for a winning son his only priority. As Akeelah continues to
win, she begins to garner attention from the media (primarily because they
can't believe a young black girl from a dysfunctional public school is doing
so well) and the support of those who once made fun of her. Apparently, it
takes a village to nurture a good speller.
Most of the films drama is fairly predictable. Eventually Akeelah's mother
finds out about her daughter's clandestine winning, which leads to a
confrontation between Basseett and Fishburne (Ike and Tina reunited!). The
smartest thing Akeelah and the Bee¹s filmmakers did with their uplifting
little film is hire Palmer as the lead. She resists every child-actor
trapping to be adorable and cute, and still manages to be highly likeable.
Expect her to be in a lot more films in coming years. Fishburne is also
quite good as the seemingly centered, Zen-like instructor, who knows exactly
how to push Akeelah and tap into her unknown (even to herself sometimes)
gifts.
The film's only major flaw is its conclusion at the National Spelling Bee,
which is a complete cop out that tries way too hard to wrap things up in a
way that won't make anybody feel like a loser. But by that point in the
plot, you are so committed to the story of Akeelah and her support team that
faulting the film seems petty. Akeelah and the Bee is glorious, if familiar,
storytelling that dares to get to know both where its characters came from
and what their potential is for growth and success. It's the type of film
designed to make you smile and feel enriched to see someone whose life is in
the balance, actually succeed and be the better for it. If you think the
film sounds too sentimental or sappy for your tastes, you may be surprised
how much it moves you. I know I was.
Capone
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+ Expand All
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Where did you see this? I saw it last night and really liked it. Besides one or two corny parts it really does well at being a good film overall. I was suprised Laurence Fishburne did so well also. It was cool to see how he dedicated the movie to his daughter too.
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I can't fucking wait!!!!!!!! YESSSSS!!!
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FOR REAL!
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what is this obsession with spelling bees?!? I hate them. Did I miss a memo or something? I remember from when I was at school some teacher mentioned that they were 'cool' in the 50s and 60s or something. I really wasn't listening. I thought that topics like this had been covered to an advanced level with Finding Forrester and Good Will Hunting. It now seems that they are doing it with younger inner city kids and making them dance or spell. Anyway, rant over. 'Hurrah' for feel good movies even if they centre around something alien to me...
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But with the title I thought it had something to do with "Killer Bees". Now, theres a good movie idea... More killer bee movies!
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April Fools or something?? This could not be the fucking website that I came to about Phantom Menace news eons ago.
Does a fucking dress and high heels come with this site now? -
...how this movie is "based on" this story? i miss the connect: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=384577&in_page_id=1770
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I saw this movie at a sneak preview and I was surprised by how good it actually was. The cast is great, even the child actors. Actually, especially the child actors. This is a film that has to be seen with a great crowd. Not so much midnight horror flick crowd, but then they remember the horrors of being 11, don't they? Still, check it out. And remember, STOP HATIN'!
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Now I can watch this in the theatre & chew on an UNO personal pizza in peace. Not even Mori was interested in covering it...what da hey??
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I didn't have high hopes for this film, but it actually is pretty adult on how things unfold, it respects the adult and kid audiences at the same time, it makes you feel good but not in a cheesy way. I could understand why you wouldn't wanna see it but don't bash it without giving it a try (or do, free will and all).
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Someone's read the book, and Cyclops comes back at the end.
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I just thought that this sight was based on GEEK news. don't get me wrong fellas, I love tons of different movies, the chick flicks (yes, I'm married), feel good flicks, and I seriously love documentaries. However, I come to this sight in particular for the GEEK shit. I guess I was just kind of lashing out about the fact that while I have grown to love this site, I am going to have to bookmarking other sites to get my geek fill of movie news and updates. Good to hear that the Spelling Bee movie is good ( I for one can't spell for shit) but unless Akeelah is on a plane with Wolverine, Spidey, the Sith and motherfuckin' Snakes, I don't wanna see it on this site.
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Whatta wasted opportunity...In my fantasies, Storm would have her own franchise.
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murdered, who are starving and can't walk the streets for fear of being caught in a military crossfire . . . . oh, and Akeelah's worried that she's SO smart her friends might make fun of her
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I can't wait to check this flick out. Fishburn is my dude. Bassett is highly underrated. (note: I agree with the talkbacker above- she should've been Storm, no question about it). And this new girl who's the lead seems to be a star in the making. Thanks for the review Capone. Great job as always!
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...then i'm guessing 99% of what concerns you in your daily life could be substituted after the "oh, and" bit in your comment. "oh, and i have to go ALL THE WAY to the gas station to fill up the air in the tires of my prius." that said, i am opposed to spelling and this movie.
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"ike and tina reunited" gave me a good laugh. otherwise i wanna see this movie as badly as a dr boll production of Yo! Noid!
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If you have a kid in one, I guess you have an excuse. But really...spelling isn't a particularly great indicator of intelligence, so Akeeah's friends should probably be ridiculing her not for being a super intelligent nerd, but for having such a lameass hobby.
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Hey, a stage is an elevated plane.
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Apr 28, 2006 6:36:58 PM CDT
So, this is the reason for those ugly advertisements...
by -guyinthebackrow
on my coffee every morning? Blah.
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Thanks for the xmen spoiler Zerocumdamx... What a dumbass
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Do you remember that episode?
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Doesn't Hollywood have any sensitivity for the VICTIMS? Is THIS what it's come to?
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Akeelah grows up and becomes a beekeeper for some bizarre and inexplicable reason, and during a plane ride home, her cargo gets jarred... Coming Summer 2007 from Starbucks Films... AKEELAH AND THE BEES ON A PLANE!! No one is safe!!
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I didn't read the talkback before i posted and I am now aware that I was beat to the punch by some bastard plagiarizing my brilliant idea while it was in transit from my brain to my fingertips.
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Yeah i think she's much more convincing as storm than the overated Berry. before Berry Ang turned down the role as the down n out trifflin mutha in Monster Ball. (should have been renamed Monster's balls after that dumb sex scene) I guess Basset has dignity, unlike Halle who will accept any script.."can you say B.A.P.S."?? IMO Barry didn't deserve the Oscar.maybe. only for shakin' that ass.LOl
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