Akeelah And The Spelling Bee Full Movie Download
Elis Riebow
Akeelah Anderson, an 11-year-old spelling enthusiast, attends Crenshaw Middle School, a predominantly black school in South Los Angeles. She lives with her widowed mother, Tanya, her three older siblings, Kiana, Devon, and Terrence, and her infant niece, Mikayla. Her principal, Mr. Welch, suggests that she sign up for the Crenshaw Schoolwide Spelling Bee, which she initially refuses. After being threatened with detention for the remainder of the semester, due to her skipping school numerous times, she enters the spelling bee and wins.
Dr. Joshua Larabee, a visiting English professor, who was watching the Crenshaw Schoolwide Spelling Bee gives Akeelah challenging words after she won her schoolwide bee and decides that she is good enough to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. However, Dr. Larabee later declines to coach her because Akeelah was rude to him when she went to his house to ask him to coach her. As a result, Akeelah studies on her own to prepare for the district spelling bee. Although Akeelah misspells her word during the final round of the bee, she gets another chance to qualify for the regional bee after Kiana catches one of the other finalists cheating. Akeelah also meets and befriends Javier Mendez, a 12-year-old Mexican-American boy and fellow speller. Javier invites her to join the spelling club at his Woodland Hills middle school.
At Woodland Hills, Akeelah meets Dylan Chiu, a Chinese-American boy who won second place at the past two national spelling bees and is in his final year of eligibility. Contemptuous after Akeelah misspells a word, he tells her she needs a coach. Afterwards, Javier invites Akeelah to his birthday party, while Tanya is depressed over Terrence's bad behavior, Akeelah's grades and frequent truancy, and her husband's death at the hands of a mugger five years prior. When she finds out about Akeelah going alone to Woodland Hills, she forbids Akeelah from participating in the regional bee and forces her to take summer school to make up for her skipped classes. To circumvent this prohibition, Akeelah forges her deceased father's signature on the consent form and secretly studies with Dr. Larabee.
Doug Atchison first had the idea of making a film about spelling bees after watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee of 1994 and noticing that most of the contestants had "privileged backgrounds".[28] Atchison also considered spelling bees to contain "all the drama and tension and entertainment value of a sporting event", and felt that this could be made into a film.[29][30] From this, he got the idea to write a script following the story of a child who had talent for spelling bee but was from a low-income neighborhood so did not "have access to the resources or coaching to pursue it as these other kids had."[11][28] He had the desire of making a "Rocky-like story" and although made it a "dramatic" plot, he declared it is "essentially a sports movie".[11]
To bring authenticity to the film's portrayal of spelling bees, George Hornedo, who competed in spelling bees in real life, was hired to play contestant Roman and be "an unofficial technical consultant." Hornedo helped the actors to recreate "certain habits and idiosyncrasies they do on stage to help them spell."[37] Thus, Akeelah skipping rope to memorize the words was added as "something that was normal for the spelling bee" but Atchison tried to create it in a "subtle" way as he thought the audience could consider this unrealistic.[38] Hornedo and other children who had never acted before were cast because of their authentic portrayals of nervous contestants; other kids, in Atchison's eyes, were "too old in how they acted".[30] Also, Jacques Bailly, who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1980 and is currently the contest's official pronouncer, since 2003, played himself in the film.[39]
Commentators on Akeelah and the Bee opined it dealt with multiple themes, including race[47] and racism,[48] poverty,[49] educational system,[50][51] competition and sportsmanship,[51][52] self-esteem,[53] self-image,[54] stigma,[50] community,[50][55] friendship,[56] gender[47] and sexism,[49] age,[47] class[57] and classism,[48] and empowerment.[50] Atchison affirmed that its focus is not the spelling but "a kid who learns what she's good at, becomes proud of that and doesn't want to hide it anymore. It's overcoming the fear of being great, before you can be great."[58] Sid Ganis described it as a film "about hope and doing great things against all the odds,"[7] while a New York Press reviewer declared it "addresses the human condition".[57]
Villarreal commented that the film "teaches you not to let your friends down",[56] while Fishburne and Hornaday highlighted its theme of community.[5][55] Marrit Ingman of The Austin Chronicle said the film indicates "a community-based, cooperative model of group success,"[51] while Justin Chang of Variety said it "focuses ... on the bee's community-uniting impact."[1] Hodges said Akeelah goes to the spelling bee because she recognizes it "proves that someone from their neighborhood can achieve success, and her achievement is, in a real sense, their own".[60] In contrast, Bernard Beck wrote for Multicultural Perspectives that it depicts "the success of individual perseverance",[61] while Red Feather Journal's Kathryn Linder expressed a similar opinion about individual success.[62] Nevertheless, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times commented "it raises important points about the ... obstacles to success that kids from poor neighborhoods face."[50] The New York Press's reviewer went further and said social class was its "real subject" as it "depicts the basics of class mobility that are routinely taken for granted".[57] However, Chang asserted it shows the spelling bee contest as "a democratizing force",[1] while Rob Asghar, for The Seattle Times, wrote it treats English as "the quintessential American tool for success."[63]
The film was promoted by coffee shop chain Starbucks as a result of a partnership between Lions Gate Entertainment and Starbucks Entertainment.[64] In January 2006, approximately 8,300 Starbucks locations in the United States and Canada began a promotional campaign for the film involving spelling-related trivia games and promotions on cardboard cup sleeves.[35][65] Variety stated that Lionsgate spent around $20 million with its market only,[66] while Los Angeles Times reported a $25-million cost to both produce and market the film.[67] Ford Motor Company also sponsored the film by providing a Lincoln Zephyr to chauffeur the cast and creators to and from a screening.[68]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote it is "an uncommonly good movie, entertaining and actually inspirational".[52] Writing for Film Journal International, Doris Toumarkine praised its pace and how "Atchison takes spelling competitions and conveys the excitement of the 'sport,' the appeal of the 'game,' the thrill of the win, [and] the crushing blow of the loss".[100] Hornaday from The Washington Post called the film "a triumph on many levels" and especially appreciated that South Los Angeles was presented without stereotypes.[55] Jane Clifford of U-T San Diego felt the film would appeal to both children and adults, and stated that every time she tried to predict its plot "it took a sharp turn. A turn that leaves you facing your stereotypes and feeling a little sheepish".[56] Dana Stevens, writing for The New York Times, asserted, "The innate suspense and charm of the spelling bee", and "a trio of crack performances" can turn "a formulaic sports picture" into a "tale that manages to inspire without being sappy".[101] Shantayaé Grant of The Jamaica Observer wrote that "acting is spectacular, the emotions are real and this story of black triumph is simply phenomenal".[102] A New York Press critic affirmed that Akeelah and the Bee "resurrects a nearly lost idea of what an art-movie really is" because it has "dramatic attention to character and place, psychology and existence".[57]
I saw it as well today. Thought the cinematography was excellent. Liked how the camera moved and really helped tell the story. It made a lot of scenes that could have really been boring (how many times can you see kids spell a word or practice their spelling without getting bored) exciting. I give the story a C- (every shop worn cliche in existence is used) but a solid A to the lighting and camera work. It looked great. Well done, David.
I finally got to see Akeelah last night. My wife and I both loved it. The cinematography was motivated by the story. There actually was a storyline in this movie as opposed to most other films that have been permeating the market lately. The character development was great and the acting held it's own. I laughed when I saw that scene where the producers told David that he didn't use enough fill on Akeelah's brother's face. It was a great looking scene, any more fill and it would've felt overlit to me. Actually, throughout the whole film the closeups all had beautiful modeling (besides the final spelling bee where I think David went for more of a live approach based on ESPN's anual National Spelling Bee). In the final scene, I loved the look of the anamorphic lens flares as Akeelah walked in and all the lights in the shots really gave the scene that much more excitement.
Through practice for the spelling bee and the support of friends and family, Akeelah finds her inner strength and overcomes self-doubt. Javier is a wonderful friend, risking his own victory to give Akeelah a fair shot at the trophy. Dr. Larabee has a strict exterior but is caring and supportive, even as he works through his own personal grief. The residents of Crenshaw, Los Angeles, rally around Akeelah to help her win.
Parents need to know that Akeelah and the Bee is a feel-good movie that centers on Akeelah (Keke Palmer), a spelling prodigy from a poor neighborhood in South Los Angeles. Expect a bit of strong language, including "s--t," "ass," "hell," and "damn." Middle schoolers kiss each other on the cheek, one character smokes, and another drinks whiskey on the rocks. Themes include being yourself instead of trying to fit in. Characters cope with extreme loss: A couple of sad conversations recall the deaths of loved ones (one by gun violence, another by disease) and divorce. Characters lie to protect loved ones and must make amends. In a couple of scenes, a mother and daughter argue. Though written and directed by a White filmmaker, the movie has an inclusive cast of almost all Black main characters, plus supporting roles for Mexican American and Chinese American characters -- but it does stereotype East Asians as overly focused on academics (a main character calls the Chinese American student "a little robot"). To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
3a7c801d34