Movie Review by Debbie Winkler
Starring: Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal
Director: Doug Atchison
Release Date: 28 April 2006
Language: English
Length: 112 minutes
Movie Rating: PG
View Format: TV
My Rating: 
Synopsis:
“With an aptitude for words, 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is determined to spell her way out of South Los Angeles, entering scores of local contests and eventually landing a chance to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Despite discouragement from her mother (Angela Bassett), Akeelah gets support from her bookish tutor (Laurence Fishburne), her principal (Curtis Armstrong) and proud members of her community.” — Netflix.com
Review:
This is a feel-good, heartwarming film that is completely implausible, but relatively entertaining nonetheless. You do get sucked into cheering for Akeelah (Keke Palmer), even though it is for a spelling competition, but you so want her to build self-esteem and be able to achieve something outside of the norm to give her a chance to escape her poor upbringing. My enjoyment of the movie was marred by the over-the-top support that she received from the entire neighborhood. I have a hard time believing that the local hoods are going to be watching the Spelling Bee on TV and cheering her on. It is possible that her school would rope all of the kids into watching it on TV in an assembly, but watching the Spelling Bee just isn’t that exciting. I know, I watched a documentary on it and, while interesting and intriguing, I would have a difficult time watching the entire event.
These scenes aside, it was good fun to watch Akeelah try to get along with her tutor, played very well by an able Laurence Fishburne, and to try and find her own way of fitting in with the other contestants. I particularly enjoyed her little Hispanic friend, Javier (J.R. Villarreal), and the way that she tried to reach out to the overly dedicated little Asian boy, Dylan (Sean Michael Afable), who was expected to win the event. It was also interesting to see all of the different parents in relation to their children. There were parents who thought the spelling bee was a waste of time (Akeelah), parents who encouraged their child and were proud of whatever level they achieved (Javier) and parents who pushed their children too hard and were completely obsessed with winning (Dylan). This is sure to be a crowd pleaser if you are looking for a heartwarming drama in a movie that features a story that could be true, but has no basis on fact.
Content:
There are a few scenes that feature mild language, arguments, name calling, gang members, and other fairly mild elements. Appropriate for viewers ages 8 and up.
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