My Take - Akeelah and the Bee - review
My Take on the Movies
A Mini-Review of
AKEELAH AND THE BEE
By: A. L. “Toni” Anderson
Keke Palmer (Madea’s Family Reunion - 2006) is Akeelah Anderson of Akeelah and the Bee (2006). This “feel-good” movie, which stars Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett, is directed by Doug Atchison. The screenplay is also by Atchison, who received an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences fellowship for this work in 2000.
The film tells the story of an 11-year-old Crenshaw (Los Angeles) Middle School student who enters a school spelling bee against her will, with predictable results. She is encouraged, however, by the spirit of her murdered father, who is reduced to a photograph on a desk. She faces and overcomes the expected obstacles of an unhappy home and family life and a depressing school atmosphere. Consequently, the entire first half of the movie is dispiriting and flat.
The usually brilliant Fishburne (as Dr. Larrabee, a former UCLA English professor and Akeelah’s spelling bee coach) initially seems to have “phoned in” this performance. He appears to have morphed into Heathcliff Huxtable, minus the humor. It is not until the final minutes of the movie that his character shows any sense of humanity, while allowing his internal demons to show. As Akeelah’s mother Tanya, Bassett likewise does not deliver her usual winning performance. Despite her character’s justifiable anger over her daughter’s deception, the fire in Bassett’s pretty eyes is somehow missing.
Akeelah’s older brother is played by Lee Thompson Young (Jett Jackson: The Movie - 2001); her sister and remaining brother are played by Erica Hubbard (Everybody Hates Chris) and Julito McCullum (who appeared in The Wool Cap - 2004 along with Ms. Palmer). Akeelah’s best friend Georgia is played by Sahara Garey (That’s So Raven).
One bright performance in this otherwise bland film is the one delivered by J. R. Villareal (House) as Javier, Akeelah’s only ally in the beginning stages of her journey. For the most part, all of the other bee contestants are unremarkable, and utterly forgettable. Tzi Ma (Rush Hour - 1998) is very effective as the father of one of the bee’s participants; however, his role is very minor and otherwise limited.
The best aspect of the movie is that it momentarily put me in touch with my own inner child. The worst is that the basic story is too cliché, and the outcome is too predictable. The final half hour is warm and fuzzy—full of community spirit and the finest in human nature; unfortunately, it is just not enough to make the first hour and fifteen minutes worth watching.
Interestingly, BET has begun airing Keke Palmer’s new video “All My Girlz,” allegedly from the movie. Although Keke appears older in the video, her performance is unimproved. Regrettably, the video is every bit as dull as the film.
♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
[© 04/29/2006]
A Mini-Review of
AKEELAH AND THE BEE
By: A. L. “Toni” Anderson
Keke Palmer (Madea’s Family Reunion - 2006) is Akeelah Anderson of Akeelah and the Bee (2006). This “feel-good” movie, which stars Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett, is directed by Doug Atchison. The screenplay is also by Atchison, who received an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences fellowship for this work in 2000.
The film tells the story of an 11-year-old Crenshaw (Los Angeles) Middle School student who enters a school spelling bee against her will, with predictable results. She is encouraged, however, by the spirit of her murdered father, who is reduced to a photograph on a desk. She faces and overcomes the expected obstacles of an unhappy home and family life and a depressing school atmosphere. Consequently, the entire first half of the movie is dispiriting and flat.
The usually brilliant Fishburne (as Dr. Larrabee, a former UCLA English professor and Akeelah’s spelling bee coach) initially seems to have “phoned in” this performance. He appears to have morphed into Heathcliff Huxtable, minus the humor. It is not until the final minutes of the movie that his character shows any sense of humanity, while allowing his internal demons to show. As Akeelah’s mother Tanya, Bassett likewise does not deliver her usual winning performance. Despite her character’s justifiable anger over her daughter’s deception, the fire in Bassett’s pretty eyes is somehow missing.
Akeelah’s older brother is played by Lee Thompson Young (Jett Jackson: The Movie - 2001); her sister and remaining brother are played by Erica Hubbard (Everybody Hates Chris) and Julito McCullum (who appeared in The Wool Cap - 2004 along with Ms. Palmer). Akeelah’s best friend Georgia is played by Sahara Garey (That’s So Raven).
One bright performance in this otherwise bland film is the one delivered by J. R. Villareal (House) as Javier, Akeelah’s only ally in the beginning stages of her journey. For the most part, all of the other bee contestants are unremarkable, and utterly forgettable. Tzi Ma (Rush Hour - 1998) is very effective as the father of one of the bee’s participants; however, his role is very minor and otherwise limited.
The best aspect of the movie is that it momentarily put me in touch with my own inner child. The worst is that the basic story is too cliché, and the outcome is too predictable. The final half hour is warm and fuzzy—full of community spirit and the finest in human nature; unfortunately, it is just not enough to make the first hour and fifteen minutes worth watching.
Interestingly, BET has begun airing Keke Palmer’s new video “All My Girlz,” allegedly from the movie. Although Keke appears older in the video, her performance is unimproved. Regrettably, the video is every bit as dull as the film.
♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
[© 04/29/2006]
Labels: Akeelah and the Bee, film, Keke Palmer, movies, review
posted by A. L. "Toni" Anderson @ 9:24 PM
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