Directed by Dough
Sometimes it's good to see a feel good story with universal themes and, if it does not drift into the realm of being hokey, it stands a chance of being a memorable flick, worthy of making it into the collection of even the most critical movie buff. Akeelah and the Bee fits that bill to a tee.
The story is based on Akeelah (Keke Palmer) am ambitious middle school student who is still dealing with the death of her father and entering that tough adolescent faze of the relationship with her mother (Angela Bassett). Akeelah is a talented but somewhat underperforming student who has a natural knack for spelling and is discovered by a professor and former spelling bee contestant himself (Laurence Fishburne)
Akeelah is at first reluctant to pursue her talent, especially the strict demands and hard work demanded by her tutor, not to mention his obvious disdain for the casual slang ways and attitude that Akeelah brings from her South Central neighborhood. Akeelah drives on, warming up to the professor and learning of his own heartbreak in losing his own daughter prior to finding Akeelah. Akeelah's mother is reluctant initially to encourage her daughter's pursuit of the spelling bee in light of her lacking performance in the other areas of her work as well as her exposure to the other side of town in the form of rich kids and friends that just may spoil her.
As you would expect, Akeelah pushes on, befriending one smitten young male friend named Javier (J.R. Villarreal) along the way and meeting equally driven, rich kid nemesis Dylan (Sean Michael) on more than one occasion, including the finals of the national spelling bee.
Keke Palmer is fantastic as Akeelah, a child actor who has the spunk and tenderness to attract you in yet holds her own with heavyweights Bassett and Fishburne. Ditto for the other two main child characters, though to a lesser degree (Villarreal and Michael) This is a different type of role for the ultra sultry and talented Bassett, devoid of glamour and somewhat harsh, though you do empathize with her as she clearly wants only what is best for Akeelah. Its just that, sometimes in the film, that is not as obvious to her character as it might be to you and me.
Fishburne portrayal of Akeelah's tutor evokes memories of a similar role he played in Higher Learning some years back, only this time he is much more a figure of sympathy as the demanding educator, and Atchison's direction and the script do a great job of making him multi-dimensional and therefore very real to us. This, of course, is only possible due to the talent of Fishburne, who is wonderful in the role.
There is something in this film for everyone, and while you won't see a thing in here that you haven't seen before, that will not stop you from rooting for Akeelah all the way, in addition to laughing along and maybe even shedding a tear as well.
A fine movie that proves you don't have to come back from the future, interact with ghosts who don't know they are dead, kill a dozen people, or be in animation to make a truly good and important film.
No matter who or where you are in life as you read this, if you have not already seen Akeelah and the Bee, fix that as soon as you can.
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