Finally, a film has arrived that doesn’t stereotype African-Americans.
In fact, writer-director Doug Atchison’s Akeelah and the Bee is a motivational film. Atchison shows through the eyes of 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson (Palmer) the cultural realism of beating the odds when they are stacked up against you. Never have I seen a family film so entertaining, yet continuously striving to present such a thought provoking message.
On the surface, Akeelah looks to be an ordinary student trying to get by in the harsh world of South Central Los Angeles’ Crenshaw Middle School, but deep down she knows she’s different because she has inherited her father’s knack for vocabulary. While her peers shun the idea of education, Akeelah is forced to suppress her skills in order to fit in. However, Principal Welch (Armstrong) needs to improve student test scores for the much needed school funding. He finds his diamond-in-the-rough in Akeelah, whom he coaxes to enter the Crenshaw Spelling Bee.
At the spelling bee Akeelah is humiliated amongst her class-mates by a former English professor and spelling bee competitor named Dr. Joshua Larabee (Fishburne). Running out of the contest, Akeelah decides to quit.
However, Dr. Larabee has other plans for her. He tells Akeelah, “They laugh because you intimidate them, but if you stood your ground you would earn their respect.” Akeelah perseveres and decides to follow her dream of going to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. With the help of Dr. Larabee, her mentor and confidant, she may just go the distance.
Along the way Akeelah runs into a cast of characters, led by Javier (Villarreal) who plays Akeelah’s spelling bee companion?providing comic relief throughout. Akeelah also runs into Dylan (Michael) who is a spelling bee competitor who’s come in second place for far too long.
Palmer is sensational. She is a gifted child actor far beyond her years who is able to single-handedly carry this film, and create an emotional wallop to my heart. Palmer also does a remarkable job of portraying Akeelah’s adolescence, as well as her moments of forced adulthood.
Fishburne rounds out the superb cast, giving a performance that harkens back to his Jason “Furious” Styles character in “Boyz n the Hood.” Both Styles and Dr. Larabee know that education is paramount to avoid becoming another ill-fated statistic in the hood, and both want the best for the child in their lives.
One could nit-pick the way “Akeelah and the Bee” tries too hard to promote its message, but while it may be cheesy and self-serving at times, the film is tailored towards kids. And if that’s what it takes to provide a heart-warming, thought provoking and respectful film to a cultural demographic that is rarely respectably accounted for, except in Spike Lee films, than so be it.
