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AKEELAH AND THE BEE

SUMMARY:
A young girl learns to believe in herself and value her intelligence in this critically-acclaimed, family-friendly drama. Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an 11-year-old being raised by her mother, Tanya (Angela Bassett), who was left on her own after the death of her husband. While Akeelah is a very bright girl, she's hardly a star student and seems afraid of acting like a bookworm around her friends and classmates. However, Akeelah's teacher sees genuine potential in her student and encourages her to enter the school's spelling bee, convinced Akeelah has the brains and the talent to win. Akeelah applies herself and emerges victorious in the local competition, but discovers the going gets tougher when she goes to a statewide bee, studying for the regionals under the aegis of strict English teacher Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), who consents to act as her coach A college professor who was a spelling-bee champ as a child, Larabee is a stubborn taskmaster who questions Akeelah's ability and commitment, but in time he develops a respect for his pupil and helps her prove her talent as she climbs the ladder to the National Spelling Bee. Meanwhile, Tanya feels intimidated when she finds the contests are dominated by children from wealthy families and privileged backgrounds, and argues that the competition may not be in Akeelah's best interest, believing instead that homework should be the one and only priority in Akeelah's life. It soon becomes apparent that if Akeelah has any intention of entering the national spelling bee championships in Washington, D.C., she will not do so with Tanya's permission or blessing. During the National Spelling Bee, Akeelah attempts to throw the competition by deliberately misspelling "xanthosis." Dylan, knowing that Akeelah deliberately misspelled the word, intentionally misspells it as well. While the judging board discusses this unlikely occurrence, Dylan tells Akeelah that he only wants to win fair and square, scoffing his father's do-or-die attitude. They both go word for word up to number 24. Dylan correctly spells "logorrhea", earning him at least a share of first place, and Akeelah spells "pulchritude" correctly to become co-champion. As she does so, Akeelah has a vision of relatives, neighbors, and Mr. Welch each contributing one letter to the word. Her victory raises cheers from Washington, D.C. to California.

Cast:
Keke Palmer as Akeelah Anderson Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Joshua Larabee Angela Bassett as Tanya Anderson Curtis Armstrong as Mr. Welch Eddie Steeples as Derrick-T J.R. Villarreal as Javier Erica Hubbard as Kiana Anderson Lee Thompson Young as Devon Tzi Ma as Mr. Chiu Sahara Garey as Georgia Sean Michael as Dylan Sara Niemietz as Polly George Hornedo as Roman Lee Garlington as Regional Judge Marjorie Harris as Head Judge Jeff Marlow as District Judge Julito McCullum as Terrence Lance Norling as Boy in Wheelchair Julia Kelleher as Tall Speller Zac Gardner as Cute Speller Jack Ong as Korean Grocer Dalia Phillips as Ms. Cross Craig Wasson as Ted Saunders Directed by Doug Atchison

REFLECTION:
Akeelah And the Bee is so warm and heart-wrenching, so full of power and emotion. "Akeelah and the Bee" is a wonderful, well-made film that starts out shaky, but then quickly wins you over with its combination of heart and charm. Sure, it often tries too hard to tug at the heartstrings, but you'd have to be fairly cold and cynical not to eventually give in.