Plot
A young girl learns to believe in herself and value her intelligence in this critically-acclaimed, family-friendly drama. Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an 11-year-old being raised by her mother, Tanya (Angela Bassett), who was left on her own after the death of her husband. While Akeelah is a very bright girl, she's hardly a star student and seems afraid of acting like a bookworm around her friends and classmates. However, Akeelah's teacher sees genuine potential in her student and encourages her to enter the school's spelling bee, convinced Akeelah has the brains and the talent to win. Akeelah applies herself and emerges victorious in the local competition, but discovers the going gets tougher when she goes to a statewide bee, studying for the regionals under the aegis of strict English teacher Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), who consents to act as her coach A college professor who was a spelling-bee champ as a child, Larabee is a stubborn taskmaster who questions Akeelah's ability and commitment, but in time he develops a respect for his pupil and helps her prove her talent as she climbs the ladder to the National Spelling Bee. Meanwhile, Tanya feels intimidated when she finds the contests are dominated by children from wealthy families and privileged backgrounds, and argues that the competition may not be in Akeelah's best interest, believing instead that homework should be the one and only priority in Akeelah's life. It soon becomes apparent that if Akeelah has any intention of entering the national spelling bee championships in Washington, D.C., she will not do so with Tanya's permission or blessing. This marks the first onscreen reunion of Bassett and Fishburne since their Academy Award-nommed performances as Ike Turner and Tina Turner in Brian Gibson's 1993 biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It.~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Review
The average sports movie has a very predictable plot. The misfit learns that he or she has a particular aptitude for the game, there is a coach who knows how to motivate and turns out to hide a heart of gold underneath the gruff exterior, our hero overcomes self-doubt, and eventually everyone gets to "The Big Game." Akeelah and the Bee follows these points at every turn, but the fact that the "sport" is spelling, along with the remarkable skill of the cast and crew, makes it a very strong entry in the sports movie genre. The superb Keke Palmer plays Akeelah, the young black girl from the inner city who through skill and determination battles her way into the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. Palmer feels like she was plucked right off the streets, but she is in fact a professional actress. She handles the deep emotional scenes with a combination of resolve and helplessness that dramatically underscore her character's intelligence and vulnerability. Laurence Fishburne has an ability to express intellectual and/or physical authority alongside a charm that can make that authority seem either less or more threatening depending on the character. He embodies Akeelah's mentor, Dr. Larabee, with the sadness and severity of a man cut off from his own feelings, but smart enough to know this. Angela Bassett, as Akeelah's mother, must play the most difficult part in the film. How do you portray a mother who is opposed to her child being in a spelling bee without coming off like a monster? Because the screenwriters have done an excellent job fashioning an effective if obvious backstory for her, Bassett is never afraid to make her character unappealing when she needs to be. Anyone can see where and how Akeelah gets her dogged determined streak. The supporting cast, especially the group of actors who play Akeelah's friends and competitors, all feel natural and are very appealing. There are no surprises in the film, just rock-solid acting and flawless craftsmanship from the writer/director Doug Atchison. If nothing else, Akeelah and the Bee showcases the joys of solid story structure married to talented artists. ~ Perry Seibert, RoviCast
- Laurence Fishburne - Dr. Larabee
- Angela Bassett - Tanya
- Keke Palmer - Akeelah Anderson
- Curtis Armstrong - Mr. Welch
- Tzi Ma - Mr. Chiu
Credit
Shelley A. Wallace - Art Director, Michael K. Johnson - Associate Producer, Dalia Phillips - Associate Producer, Stacey A. Washer - Boom Operator, Aisha Coley - Casting, Jaki Brown-Karman - Casting, Kim Coleman - Casting, Aaron Zigman - Conductor, Jaki Brown-Karman - Co-producer, Kent Kubena - Co-producer, Sharen Davis - Costume Designer, Chad Rosen - First Assistant Director, Rodney Hooks - First Assistant Director, Doug Atchison - Director, Glenn Farr - Editor, Mark Czyzewski - Editor, Michael Burns - Executive Producer, Michael Paseornek - Executive Producer, Helen Sugland - Executive Producer, Marc Butan - Executive Producer, Mark Cuban - Executive Producer, Todd Wagner - Executive Producer, Tom Ortenberg - Executive Producer, Andy Keeter - Location Manager, Mike Upton - Line Producer, Aaron Zigman - Composer (Music Score), Joel C. High - Musical Direction/Supervision, Christopher Mosio - Camera Operator, John Radzik - Camera Operator, Warren Alan Young - Production Designer, M. David Mullen - Cinematographer, Steven Douglas Smith - Cinematographer, Laurence Fishburne - Producer, Sid Ganis - Producer, Nancy Hult Ganis - Producer, Michael Romersa - Producer, Daniel Llewelyn - Producer, Michael Stern - Recording, Barbara McCart - Recording, Alicia MacCarone - Set Designer, John Warner - Set Designer, Shane Kelly - Set Designer, Matthew Nicolay - Sound Mixer, Michael Stern - Sound Mixer, Roland N. Thai - Sound/Sound Designer, Danetracks, Inc. - Sound/Sound Designer, Jacques Bailly - Technical Advisor, Mike Upton - Unit Production Manager, Joseph P. Genier - Unit Production Manager, Doug Atchison - Screenwriter, Christopher Mosio - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Michael Strange - Production Assistant, Danielle Mana - Production Assistant, Todd Mccormick - Production Assistant, Mike Uguccioni - Visual Effects Supervisor, Greg Hedgepath - Sound Effects Editor, Donna Sloan - Executive in Charge of Production, Julie Polkes - Unit Publicist, Elaine Hall Katz - Dialogue Coach, Jeffrey R. Clark - First Assistant Camera, Theo Pingarelli - First Assistant Camera, Keith Eisberg - First Assistant Camera, Rich Paisley - Gaffer, Denise Brady - Grip, Deron Tse - Grip, Noah Peter - Grip, Jordan Garretson - Grip, Stephen K. James - Grip, Matt Minke - Grip, Robert Myers - Grip, Alexander Salazar - Grip, Joseph M. Barno - Grip, Brian Christie - Grip, Brad Heiner - Key Grip, Manny Duran - Key Grip, Eduardo Ponsdomenech - Music Editor, Mark McCoy - Post Production Coordinator, Carl Pedregal - Post Production Supervisor, Jules Carideo - Production Coordinator, Jennifer L. Booth - Production Supervisor, Lisa Looney - Production Supervisor, Kathleen Kasinger - Properties Master, Jason Harrell - Properties Master, Matthew D. Egan - Properties Master, Oswaldo Rojas - Properties Master, Ken S. Polk - Re-Recording Mixer, Jan McWilliams - Script Supervisor, Saeed Adyani - Still Photographer, Roland N. Thai - Supervising Sound Editor, Andrew Midgley - Visual Effects Producer, Cheryle Cravedi - Costume/Wardrobe, Yvonne Bastidos - Costume/Wardrobe, Meta Möise - Costume/Wardrobe, Jodie Stern - Costume/Wardrobe, Eric Thompson - ADR Mixer, Chris Navarro - ADR Recordist, Mark Finer - Art Department Assistant, Angela Simpson - Art Department Assistant, Erma Kent - Assistant Hair, Fay Kelly - Assistant Hair, Craig N. Simmons - Assistant Location Manager, Richard DiPatri - Assistant Location Manager, Jenny DeArmitt - Assistant Production Coordinator, Donald Wygal Jr. - Assistant Production Coordinator, Chela Fiorini - Assistant Properties, Matt Furginson - Assistant Properties, Robert Murphy - Best Boy Electric, Rick Young - Best Boy Grip, Stephen L. Whitcomb - Camera Loader, Robyn Mitchell - Casting Assistant, Ricky Mendez - Casting Assistant, Benita Elliott - Casting Assistant, Eve Streger - Casting Assistant, Lamese Williams - Casting Assistant, Robert "Cass" McEntee - Construction Coordinator, Riki Sabusawa-Roach - Costumes Supervisor, James "Keeper" Auld - Dolly Grip, John T. Leonetti - Electrician, Tim Hedgecock - Electrician, Eric S. Adamson - Electrician, Cooper Donaldson - Electrician, Tommy Hubbard - Electrician, Joshua Lee Huber - Electrician, Prime Casting - Extra Casting, Big Crowds - Extra Casting, Mary Jane Amato - First Assistant Accountant, Mark Czyzewski - First Assistant Editor, Vince Nicastro - Foley Artist, Laura Macias - Foley Artist, Melissa Pillmear - Foley Editor, Jose A. Saenz - Greensman, Gigi Williams - Key Make-up, Linda Cowan - Key Make-up, Greg Sanger - Leadman, Daniel MacArthur - Personal Assistant, Bree Bailey - Personal Assistant, Dorottya Hegedus - Personal Assistant, Carlo Eugster - Personal Assistant, Robert Natter - Personal Assistant, Robyn Heath - Personal Assistant, Audrey Kendrick - Personal Assistant, Leland Jay Anderson - Personal Assistant, Tracy Jackson - Personal Assistant, Michelle Pullman - Personal Assistant, Lisa Ng - Personal Assistant, Keith Iceberg - Personal Assistant, Diana Horwich - Personal Assistant, Emily Rice - Post Production Accountant, Liam Hearne - Post Production Accountant, Jenny Cho - Post Production Assistant, Cynthia Gates Fujikawa - Production Accountant, David Mun - Second Assistant Camera, Marcus Lopez - Second Assistant Camera, Jarrod Oswald - Second Assistant Camera, Marvin J. Williams Jr. - Second Second Assistant Director, Grant Sawyer - Set Dresser, Nelson Bush - Set Dresser, Buddy Ray Reynolds-Maichel - Set Dresser, Douglas McKay - Set Dresser, Efrén Pérez - Set Dresser, Salvador Valle - Set Dresser, Ken Peterson - Set Dresser, Jason Cox - Set Production Assistant, Jeff Saville - Set Production Assistant, Shadee Ardalan - Set Production Assistant, Lyman Richardson - Set Production Assistant, Kirk Huston - Transportation Captain, Angel Desanti - Transportation Captain, Geno Hart - Transportation Coordinator, XY&Z Visual Effects - Visual Effects, Juliann Getman - Set Decorator, Lanei Chapman - ADR Loop Group, John La Fayette - ADR Loop Group, Carlos Lacamara - ADR Loop Group, Kevin Davidson and the Voices - ADR Loop Group, Krysten Leigh Jones - ADR Loop Group, Austin Noah Marques - ADR Loop Group, Tinashe Kachingwe - ADR Loop Group, Khanya Mkhize - ADR Loop Group, Ashlynn Rose - ADR Loop Group, Paige Hurd - ADR Loop Group, Courtney Taylor Burness - ADR Loop Group, Kayla Henry - ADR Loop Group, Zack Shada - ADR Loop Group, Andrea Baker - ADR Loop Group, Caryle King - ADR Loop Group, Jeffrey Todd Fischer - ADR Loop Group, Terence Matthew - ADR Loop Group, Jessie Flower - ADR Loop Group, Katelyn Kowalick - ADR Loop Group, Mishon Ratliff - ADR Loop Group, Terrence Hardy - ADR Loop Group, Kendre Berry - ADR Loop Group, Axel Alba - ADR Loop Group, Cody Klop - ADR Loop Group, AJ Noel - ADR Loop Group, Denzel Whitaker - ADR Loop Group, Kimberly Bailey - ADR Voice Casting, Barbara Harris - ADR Voice Casting, Gerard Vernice - Cable Person, David Orr - Color Timing, Keith Pickett - Craft Service/Catering, Robert Weisman - Craft Service/Catering, Jose Lopez - Craft Service/Catering, Nery Lopez - Craft Service/Catering, Kevin Pickett - Craft Service/Catering, Joel Rose - Driver, Will Gardner - Driver, Wayne Flowers - Driver, John Pellegrino - Driver, Steve Weible - Driver, Dave Wilson - Driver, Joe Cosentino - Driver, Rod Brodie - Driver, Audrey Fitzgerald - Driver, Tony Barattini - Driver, Adam Pinkstaff - Driver, Leo Landa - Driver, Luis Mata - Driver, Shawn Kennelly - Foley Mixer, Dash Hart - Generator Operator, Negative People Incorporated - Negative Cutter, Susan Bannout - Set Medic/First Aid, Fred Stafford - Supervising ADR Editor, Alexandra Pic - Title Design, Pamela Green - Title Design, Jarik Van Sluijs - Title Design, Gary Herbert - Title Design, Alysia D. Allen - Art Department Coordinator, Kenneth Walker - Department Head Makeup, Edna M. Sheen - Department Head Makeup, Nancy Barker - First Assistant Sound Editor, Michael Ryan - Painter, Kristie E. Moore-Bialuski - Painter, Charles Kern - Painter, Leslie Lawson - Painter| Ake og hans värld (1984 Film), Akcija Stadion (1977 Film) | |
| Akelarre (1984 Film), Akenfield (1974 Film) |
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
