It’s very hard to mess up a child prodigy film and thankfully Akeelah and the Bee ranks up with Searching For Bobby Fischer and August Rush as “movies that just got the idea right.” These films tend to be underdog stories even though the subject’s a natural at what s/he does and can’t possibly lose. We see them as underdogs because we’re more intrigued by how their life changes when they discover they have a gift, and realize that despite having the gods bless their abilities at a particular event or game, in the game of life, it feels like they’re at a disadvantage. Their friends don’t know how to respond to them. Their parents respond with either gross uncertainty…or too much certainty. The prodigy that grabs the attention of the world becomes an outcast in the world they know.
Akeelah and the Bee follows this same concept as Akeelah (Keke Palmer) struggles to decide whether her abilities as a great speller are a blessing or a curse. She’s afraid to find out because she goes to a black school in the ghettos of California where intelligence is frowned upon, perceived as “that thing for rich white kids.” Sadly, she’s probably right to hold back, but her teachers don’t believe so, convincing her…or should I say blackmailing her…into participating at the school’s first Spelling Bee because she’s the only one who can manage above a D on her vocabulary tests.
It’s here she meets Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) who wants to take her on as a spelling apprentice, challenging her in front of the school in a back and forth spelling battle that brings Akeelah into her element and, in one fell swoop, makes you fall in love with her character. Laurence Fishburne, as always, makes an excellent teacher (watch Searching For Bobby Fischer or Higher Learning). He’s distinguished, even when he doesn’t want to be. His smiles and smirks of approval pierce into your ego and give it the ol’ attaboy, and you can see Akeelah enjoying having a brain that she knows how to use.
She gets better, stronger, more entertaining as she develops and the movie does a great job of evolving the community around her as she progresses. The neighborhood sees hope in Akeelah because she breaks the stereotypes and that makes her easy to stand behind. The fear to be smart dissipates and there’s a new sparkle in her eyes that’s just the kind of uplifting image that makes this genre an enjoyable watch every time.
Unfortunately, the film itself lacks confidence in its own message, taking easy outs to force feed us life lessons that just took away from the story of Akeelah and her Bee. Dr. Larabee lost a daughter years prior and it interferes with his ability to take those final training steps with Akeelah for the convenience of bringing Akeelah and her mother closer together. The over-demanding parents of the over-determined, overly-sheltered Asian Superrival (what, you though there wasn’t one?) don’t get to learn their cliché lesson of “winning isn’t the only part of growing up” (which is ignored in a way that reminds me of the horrible concept of “participation trophies” and really left a bad taste in my mouth at the end). These and other little “twists” got in the way of the inspiring fun of this movie and seemed to just be there to create convenient emotion in a drama that wasn’t convinced it had enough.
I have to mention the last little piece of this, which is the music direction. The music here just didn’t fit the movie; didn’t fit the feelings it needed to. This movie didn’t play the race card much (it was more “the underprivileged card”), but for some reason, through the inappropriate rap and beatbox soundtrack, it felt an obligation to remind you this was a movie about black people. Uplifting montages were coupled with pointlessly energetic melodies that took away from the beauty of what was occurring on screen; I’m just thrilled they didn’t cut to the artist in the studio while he was recording.
All things considered though, this was a very fun, very sweet watch. I loved Akeelah as a character and loved that there was a great balance between life and competition. I was told that I might be a little bit harsh with this, and perhaps I am, but still, 8 dustbusters out of 10 is not bad at all. I will probably watch this again, and like last night, I will have to watch the incredible Searching For Bobby Fischer right after. Very worth the watch.
YES! Finally someone else who gets that there IS a right way to use a soundtrack! Haven't seen this one, but it's now in queue.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I try to look at every aspect of a movie, sometimes things just rub me the wrong way and it's easy to single out
ReplyDeleteLOL I can relate. Someone needs to re-score De Palma's "Scarface". Seriously.
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