Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Doug Atchison

Writer (WGA):

Doug Atchison (written by)

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

Changing the world... one word at a time.

Plot:

A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.

Plot Keywords:

Spelling | Spelling Bee | Principal | School Principal | Middle School

Awards:

8 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Keke Palmer	...	Akeelah
Laurence Fishburne	...	Dr. Larabee
Angela Bassett	...	Tanya
Curtis Armstrong	...	Mr. Welch
J.R. Villarreal	...	Javier
Sean Michael	...	Dylan (as Sean Michael Afable)
Sahara Garey	...	Georgia
Lee Thompson Young	...	Devon
Julito McCullum	...	Terrence
Erica Hubbard	...	Kiana
Eddie Steeples	...	Derrick-T
Dalia Phillips	...	Ms. Cross
Tzi Ma	...	Mr. Chiu
Jeris Poindexter	...	Steve (as Jeris Lee Poindexter)
Sara Niemietz	...	Polly

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language.

Runtime:

USA:112 min | Argentina:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG | UK:12A | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | Canada:G (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-3 | Australia:PG | UK:PG (re-rating) (2007)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Spelling Bee Productions Inc.

Trivia:

The quote that Dr. Larabee has Akeelah read from a plaque on his wall is an excerpt from "A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles" by Marianne Williamson.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On Akeelah's spelling test with a grade of 100%, word 3 is spelled "bacause".

Quotes:

Akeelah: I'm naturally inquisitive.
Dr. Larabee: Yes, which is also sometimes confused with being naturally obnoxious.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Colbert Report: Frank Rich (#2.61)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Lester Hayes

A great, inspirational, feel-good movie

The commercial made me smile. It made me think 'That looks like a good kids movie', but at the same time it made me think 'It kind of looks stupid...' Boy, I was wrong. Akeelah and the Bee is an inspirational movie, and is definitely great for those who share an interest in spelling bees.

I went to the movies with my friends for her birthday, expecting little about the bee at all and more about a love relationship between Akeelah and her newfound friend, Javier. Surprisingly enough, very little of the content was anything to do with romance, and thank goodness.

The acting, oh my goodness. It was wonderful. Especially Keke Palmer's performance. Her face told the story, really. Facial acting was wonderful, no doubt. Keke's performance perfectly matches up to her being as good as young Dakota Fanning, without her having to bawl out crying in any scenes. And the rest of the cast was great, too. The ending is very sweet, but I certainly won't spoil it for anyone.

Overall, a very inspirational movie. 10/10