Akeelah and the Bee

Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother (Angela Bassett), her schoolmates, and her coach, Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne). The cast also features Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable, Erica Hubbard, Lee Thompson Young, Julito McCullum, Sahara Garey, Eddie Steeples, and Tzi Ma.
The film was developed over a period of 10 years by Atchison, who came up with the initial concept after seeing the 1994 Scripps National Spelling Bee and noting that a majority of the competitors came from well-off socioeconomic backgrounds. After completing the script in 1999, Atchison won one of the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting in 2000, which attracted producers Sid Ganis and Nancy Hult Ganis. After an initial inability to secure funding, the project got a second wind as a result of the success of the 2002 documentary film Spellbound. Lionsgate Films undertook the production in 2004 and in the following year it was filmed in South Los Angeles on a budget of over $6 million.
Atchison remarked that his theme for the film, deemed an inspirational film, was about overcoming obstacles despite difficult challenges along the way. He also said that he wanted to portray African Americans in a manner that was not stereotypical and tried to show how African American children incorporate some stereotypes. The film alludes to the importance of community as well as to problems black communities face. It also deals with esteem and stigma in school while criticizing the public school system. Cast members said that although the film was aimed at children, they considered it had important lessons for the parents as well.
Released in the United States on April 28, 2006, Akeelah and the Bee was positively received by critics and audiences. Reviewers praised its storyline and cast, lauding Palmer's performance, although a few critics panned the story as familiar and formulaic, and were critical of the portrayal of Asian-American characters. The film grossed $19 million, and received a number of awards and nominations, including the Black Reel Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. Film critics highly praised it for avoiding African-American stereotypes common in Hollywood films, while scholars were less favorable, even saying it reinforces some clichés.
==Plot==
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 Hillsmiddle 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.
At Javier's party, Akeelah nearly beats Dylan in Scrabble. Afterwards, Akeelah overhears Dylan's overly competitive, overbearing father insulting her and berating his son for nearly losing to "a little black girl". During the state bee, Tanya comes inside and interrupts her daughter before she can spell her word. Tanya chastises Akeelah for going to the bee without her permission but relents after a side discussion with Dr. Larabee and Mr. Welch. Javier protects Akeelah from disqualification by stalling until she can return. Dylan, Javier and Akeelah advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
As Christmas approaches, Akeelah goes out to buy Dr. Larabee a present, but when she meets him, he reveals that he is quitting being her coach because she reminds him of his deceased daughter, Denise; she died of an unexpected terminal illness when she was younger than Akeelah. Instead, Dr. Larabee gives Akeelah 5,000 flashcards to study. Without her coach, rejected by her best friend Georgia, and feeling the pressure from her neighborhood residents to make them proud, Akeelah loses her motivation. However, Tanya tells her that if she looked around her, she would realize that she has "50,000 coaches". Akeelah recruits her family members, classmates, teachers, friends, and neighbors to prepare in earnest. After reuniting with Dr. Larabee, Akeelah goes to Washington, D.C., with him, along with Tanya, Georgia, Mr. Welch, and Devon, unaware that her coach has paid for four of their tickets. Georgia rekindles her friendship with Akeelah after she invites her.
During the competition, Akeelah becomes a crowd favorite. Once all of the other contestants get out, there are only two left, the two being Dylan and Akeelah. The two finalists are allowed a break, during which Akeelah overhears Dylan's father harshly pressuring him to win, so Akeelah attempts to intentionally lose. Dylan, fed up with his father's competitiveness, intentionally misspells the word as well. Dylan tells Akeelah that he wants a fair competition. The two then proceed to spell every word listed by the judges until the two are declared co-champions. After Akeelah spells "pulchritude" (the same word she misspelled at the start of the film), she is officially declared a winner.
==Cast==
* Keke Palmer as Akeelah Anderson
* Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Joshua Larabee
* Angela Bassett as Tanya Anderson
* Curtis Armstrong as Bob Welch
* J.R. Villarreal as Javier Mendez
* Sean Michael Afable as Dylan Chiu
* Sahara Garey as Georgia Carver
 
Category:2006 films
Category:2006 drama films
Category:2006 independent films
Category:2000s American films
Category:African-American drama films
Category:Coming-of-age drama films
Category:Films about educators
Category:Films about race and ethnicity
Category:Films about spelling competitions
Category:Films set in Los Angeles
Category:Films set in Washington, D.C.
Category:Films shot in Los Angeles
Category:Films about mother-daughter relationships
Category:Lionsgate films