Akeelah and the Bee

An 11-year-old inner-city black girl throws herself into the National Spelling Bee competition | Gene Edward Veith

Lots of movies show poor minority kids who develop character and find success in sports. Akeelah and the Bee is like a sports movie, complete with an inspiring coach, but it celebrates brains rather than brawn.

The movie (rated PG for some middle-school naughty words) is about an 11-year-old inner-city black girl who throws herself into the National Spelling Bee competitions. Akeelah must overcome peer pressure against academic success, an uncomprehending family, her bad school, and her own self-doubts.

Akeelah (Keke Palmer) has the help of a tough-minded spelling coach (Laurence Fishburne) with personal struggles of his own. He does not allow "ghetto talk" and, instead of sticking to memorizing word lists, makes her read essays so that she will realize "the power of words." He teaches her that "big words come from little words" and that the little words come from Latin, Greek, and French words.

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May 13, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 19

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