Barnes & Noble

A sober, heartwarming, and inspirational drama, Akeelah and the Bee employs intelligent writing and unusually sensitive performances, especially from young African-American actress Keke Palmer in the title role. Eleven-year-old Akeelah Anderson, who lives in south central Los Angeles with her working mother (Angela Bassett), is an extremely bright girl whose grades are slipping due to unwelcome, outside influences. To get her back on track, the school principal has her enter the national spelling bee. Akeelah's coach for the event is Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), a college professor on a leave of absence following the death of his daughter. Writer-director Doug Atchison draws his characters sharply, giving clearly definable traits to each but leaving a certain amount of room for interpretation by the actors, who rise to the challenge magnificently. Larabee keenly understands that Akeelah's love for words links her to the father she lost as a small girl, and she realizes on some level that she has become a surrogate for the daughter Larabee lost. Fishburne's demonstrative passion is perfectly balanced by Palmer's quiet strength, and their scenes together are pure, unadulterated movie magic. The climactic spelling bee doesn't unfold along predictable lines, and it demonstrates that Akeelah has learned things she can't get out of a dictionary or thesaurus. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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. This marks the first onscreen reunion of Bassett and Fishburne since their Academy Award-nommed performances as Ike Turner and Tina Turner in Brian Gibson's 1993 biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It.

Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 031398195962
• Source: LIONS GATE
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:52:00
• Sales Rank: 5,145

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