Spring Break
'The Bee' is worth the sting
Movie review
Tandrea Madison
Issue date: 4/27/06 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Though the story took more than six years to be picked up by a movie studio, "Akeelah & the Bee" was well worth the wait.
Based on a true story, the movie is about Akeelah Anderson, a little girl raised in South Los Angeles, who makes it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The movie stars Keke Palmer as Akeelah, Laurence Fishburn as Dr. Joshua Larabee and Angela Bassett as Akeelah's mother, Tanya Anderson.
Akeelah is known as a "brainiac" at her school long before teachers notice that she has a real knack for spelling. One night while watching TV with her family, she notices the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ESPN, which mesmerizes her.
However, school administrators try to convince Akeelah to participate in the school spelling bee, but she declines, not wanting to draw more undue attention to herself.
As the movie progresses, Akeelah changes her mind about the bee. She goes on to win the school and local bees and makes nationals her goal.
Former national bee winner Larabee enters the young girl's life and offers to coach her. He teaches her how to break down any word so that she can spell it. He also helps her find out what her memory technique is: rhythm. She taps her right hand against her leg in syllabic rhythm to remember each word.
When Larabee quits as her coach, Akeelah finds out that she has more support than she realizes. Her family and community pitch in to help her learn and prepare for the bee.
Palmer does a great job of playing the precocious Akeelah. Palmer looks every bit an intelligent 11-year-old, particularly because she was that age while the movie was being filmed.
Akeelah's mother, Tayna, is a widow who is very protective of her family. She's a nurse, working hard to provide and raise her children. However, she's losing her son to the streets of Los Angeles and as a result neglects to pay a lot of attention to Akeelah.
Fishburne gives a wonderful performance as well, bringing his signature "strong and silent" style to the character of Larabee. He portrays Larabee as a man who is hurting from the loss of his daughter and departure of his wife. Watching the interaction between such an open, inquisitive child and a closed, private man is interesting.
The movie took a dozen years to be created.
According to writer and director Doug Atchinson, the script took about six years for a major studio to finally pick it up and several more to find the right actors and to shoot.
The story line itself is a touching one, even if it does give a slight sense of predictability.
The fact that the story is based on a real-life situation made it that much more interesting. The audience really pulled for Akeelah to win, laughing and cheering for her as she went along.
It's a great family movie, and it just might encourage children to pick up a book. You should grab the kids and go see it. It'll make you feel good.
Based on a true story, the movie is about Akeelah Anderson, a little girl raised in South Los Angeles, who makes it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The movie stars Keke Palmer as Akeelah, Laurence Fishburn as Dr. Joshua Larabee and Angela Bassett as Akeelah's mother, Tanya Anderson.
Akeelah is known as a "brainiac" at her school long before teachers notice that she has a real knack for spelling. One night while watching TV with her family, she notices the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ESPN, which mesmerizes her.
However, school administrators try to convince Akeelah to participate in the school spelling bee, but she declines, not wanting to draw more undue attention to herself.
As the movie progresses, Akeelah changes her mind about the bee. She goes on to win the school and local bees and makes nationals her goal.
Former national bee winner Larabee enters the young girl's life and offers to coach her. He teaches her how to break down any word so that she can spell it. He also helps her find out what her memory technique is: rhythm. She taps her right hand against her leg in syllabic rhythm to remember each word.
When Larabee quits as her coach, Akeelah finds out that she has more support than she realizes. Her family and community pitch in to help her learn and prepare for the bee.
Palmer does a great job of playing the precocious Akeelah. Palmer looks every bit an intelligent 11-year-old, particularly because she was that age while the movie was being filmed.
Akeelah's mother, Tayna, is a widow who is very protective of her family. She's a nurse, working hard to provide and raise her children. However, she's losing her son to the streets of Los Angeles and as a result neglects to pay a lot of attention to Akeelah.
Fishburne gives a wonderful performance as well, bringing his signature "strong and silent" style to the character of Larabee. He portrays Larabee as a man who is hurting from the loss of his daughter and departure of his wife. Watching the interaction between such an open, inquisitive child and a closed, private man is interesting.
The movie took a dozen years to be created.
According to writer and director Doug Atchinson, the script took about six years for a major studio to finally pick it up and several more to find the right actors and to shoot.
The story line itself is a touching one, even if it does give a slight sense of predictability.
The fact that the story is based on a real-life situation made it that much more interesting. The audience really pulled for Akeelah to win, laughing and cheering for her as she went along.
It's a great family movie, and it just might encourage children to pick up a book. You should grab the kids and go see it. It'll make you feel good.
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