Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Too much of everything

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Akeelah and the BeeWith Michelle Obama out of office, the only strong black woman African American girls have to look up to now is Madea.Thankfully, the phenom in this drama became her on role model.With a knack for spelling, but a bad attitude keeping her from getting proper instruction, Akeelah (Keke Palmer) struggles to make it through competition. With no encouragement from her single mother (Angela Bassett), she takes it upon herself to study and seek out a coach (Laurence Fishburne) who can help get her to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.Although it's a fictional account, this underdog tale is rooted in the short-lived spelling bee craze of the early-2000s. With Fine performances all-around, this feel-good film turns the sport on its ear by having an impoverished child compete in an affluent afterschool activity.Best of all, the only equipment you need to compete is a pair of coke-bottle glasses.Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

Before I even start, let me tell you who I am. First and foremost, I am a 61 year old father of five and sucker for feel good movies that are squeaky clean. I love movies that hit me emotionally, have good character development, and likable characters. I also love movies that feature any level of character redemption, where bad people become good. When I leave a movie, I don't want to feel depressed. When all is said and done, I think there's a longing in each human heart for a happy ending. I actually believe that this longing is rooted in our, mostly unconscious, longing to know God and believe in His ability to make even the darkest circumstance work out in the end.Given all that criteria, this movie is a perfect ten for me. I have probably watched it ten times. Every time I watch it I have tears streaming down my face. I used to try to get all my kids and their friends to watch it and, for some reason, they usually are not as impressed as I am. It seems that the younger the viewer, the less likely they are to rate the movie highly. Most of my older adult friends love it. I feel pretty confident in saying that if you loved August Rush, you'll love this movie.

This movie is just outstanding, although I'm not an English native speaker, but I really enjoyed that movie so much, and I learned a lot of words also... Akeelah (Keke Palmer) was just amazing and she proved that she's a good actress ! I just remember that scene at the school in the very first competition, when Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) asked her to pronounce some super tough words and she did it. and also when he taught her how to deconstruct that long Latin word "Soliterraneous"... it was just amazing ! so Akeelah, can you pronounce "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" fast, and tell the definition of it ;)after all, it's really a must see movie, i give it 8/10

At first glance, I was put off by Akeelah and the Bee. It's just that a movie about competitive spelling did not seem to appeal to me, and I really did not care about seeing it, ever. I did not know anyone in the cast either and never heard much about it from others. After my friend, who also thought it would not be that great, watched it and told me they absolutely loved it, I thought about giving it a try. Let me tell you all in my honest opinion, it is not a film you should disregard or think about disregarding so quickly, and it is now one of my favorite movies of all time.The movie is just so wonderfully put together; I adore it. The characters and plot have a nice flow and real feel to them that make the watcher comfortable with everything that happens or where I could even relate to it in some way. It starts off with Akeelah, a young African American girl from Los Angeles, who is shy and unsure of herself around her community. She progresses into having a relationship with her tutor, Dr. Larabee, and grows to become more confident in herself as she practices for the National Spelling Bee.I just could not stop cheering for Keke Palmer's character throughout this movie. She's witty, sassy and lovable in all her charms, and Keke Palmer gives an incredible performance. The rest of the cast are superb, and the movie, like I said, has a nice pace and throws in a lot of twists and subtleties, especially making the viewer feel the sense the writer and director is wanting you to feel strongly, such as melancholiness or joyousness. There is a lot of fun involved in this movie when it comes down to it, no matter how serious it takes itself at times, which everything just works out for the better in terms of how the movie is handled.