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April 10, 2006

Akeelah and the Bee

David Jeffers

Monday April 10, 7:00pm The Harvard Exit
Opens April 28

"If I could spell like you I know I could be a flight attendant!"

Another spelling bee movie (requisite eye-rolling here)? Akeelah is an adorable, bright eleven-year-old who sees the Scripps National Spelling Bee one night on ESPN and she’s hooked. Against all odds she finds herself on that stage the following year (oh brother). Akeelah and the Bee is like your Grandma’s recipe for meatloaf. You’ve had it a million times and know exactly what it tastes like before the first bite. But if meatloaf is your thing, this film should be comforting. The idea that every film needs to reinvent the wheel is also an unfair expectation. Solid writing and editing help make Akeelah and the Bee very acceptable family entertainment. A cast including Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne also doesn’t hurt. Where the story really succeeds, in a world that prizes greed, avarice and selfish accomplishment, is in the lesson that self-sacrifice and putting others first is its own reward.

Posted by David Jeffers at April 10, 2006 9:53 PM
Comments

grandma's meat loaf?
i have often wondered upon what criteria you assess movies. now i know. you judge them against family recipes. well, being a vegan, i am unqualified to rate akeelah and the bee against your grandma's meat loaf...
but, by my own aesthetics, i do think it one of the top films of the year. easily the best film about minority children and education since "stand and deliver." akeelah and the bee avoides cliche and stereotype at every turn. the issues are dealt with subtly and honestly, and the acting is amazing.
you liked that wretched "hearts of the game" didnt you? the akeelah team could work wonders with that story. but, then again, you liked "coach carter" too , didnt you? so maybe movies just look different to somebody with a mouth full of meatloaf.

Posted by: Bill White at October 1, 2006 6:30 PM

Considering these comments are half a year after the fact, and only serve to provoke an argument, I will not discuss the film at all. Since we attended the same screening of Coach Carter (you invited me) and discussed the film afterward, you should remember I didn’t really care for it (We both had a good laugh over how bad it was). I can excuse your confusion though, which is fairly consistent. You recently told me videotape has a longer shelf life than dvd, and unless the vegan diet has been re-defined, it does not include eggs, an ingredient of baked bread. Also, it’s 'The Heart of the Game', not 'Hearts of the Game'.

Posted by: David Jeffers at October 5, 2006 10:08 PM




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