Welcome back to Movie Recaps.
Today I will show you a 2006 drama film, titled Akeelah and the Bee.
Spoilers ahead!
Watch out and take care.
This is the story of Akeelah Anderson, an eleven-year-old girl who doesn't seem to fit
in quite well.
She studies in Southern Los Angeles at Crenshaw Middle School, a poor-conditioned place with
primarily African-American students.
In the middle of her class, Ms. Cross is handing out some tests, and she particularly catches
Akeelah's eye.
She asks her if she studied for the test, and Akeelah replies that she did not, causing
her classmates to mock her.
Ms. Cross asks to see her after school, as she needs to speak privately.
To her surprise, Akeelah realizes that she actually got an excellent grade.
After class, Ms. Cross tells her the potential she has as a student, contrasting with Akeelah's
subdued attitude, not making her homework and sometimes skipping classes.
She also tells Akeelah about the school’s first spelling bee next week, endorsing her
to sign up.
Akeelah talks to her friend Georgia on the streets while a homeless man begs for alms,
and they see the new car of Derrick-T's, a neighborhood bully.
When Georgia asks if she will enter the spelling bee, Akeelah replies that she's not interested
and thinks it's stupid.
Despite this, Akeelah enjoys winning games of Scrabble on her computer as a hobby in
the evening.
She’s called to dinner, and her family chats with Devon, Akeelah's brother who studies
to be an airline pilot, as they haven't seen each other in a while.
However, he tells his family that he hasn't flown a plane so far, still staying in control
rooms, with his mother Tanya glad that he doesn't have to do such dangerous work yet.
Akeelah has a good relationship with her brother, urging her to continue her studies.
Her mother asks Akeelah to turn off the TV, but Devon tells her to change the channel
instead.
Coincidentally, Akeelah ends up tuning in to a spelling bee and is surprised by its
size and recognition.
The girl on screen wins the national contest, and the entire audience cheers her on.
Back in her room, Akeelah researches the word the girl spelled while remembering her father,
who used to play Scrabble with her before dying.
Akeelah researches and transcribes words to learn their correct spelling, a practice she
does for much of the night.
A week later, Akeelah is harassed by a pair of bullies at the start of school, wanting
to force her to do her English homework.
Parallel to this, Principal Welch talks to visiting English teacher Dr. Joshua Larabee,
and they find the girls fighting.
Welch breaks up the fight but calls Akeelah and asks if she has signed up for the spelling
bee yet, but she denies it.
In Principal Welch's office, he praises Akeelah's spelling skills, but criticizes her for skipping
classes.
Welch asks if she knows about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and she comments that
she watched the finals last week.
He explains that several young students compete in regional competitions to make it to the
national spelling bee in Washington, D.C. and that he wants one of his students to be
in that year's competition.
Whoever wins the next school competition that day may participate in the next district competition
the following month.
Akeelah has no interest in representing her school because of its poor educational conditions
and comfort for the students.
Still, Principal Welch insists her to do so.
Akeelah mentions how everyone will make fun of her if she competes and wins, so Welch
resorts to putting her in detention for half the semester for all her absences.
She agrees to participate against her will, so the competition begins.
It all starts a little uneven, as the kids are not used to that kind of event, but when
Akeelah comes to the front, she says her first word correctly.
Time marches on, and Akeelah ends up in the finals with the word 'Fanciful,' which she
spells without a problem, winning the competition.
As her friend Georgia and the audience celebrate, everything is interrupted when Mr. Larabee
stands up and speaks directly to Akeelah, requesting her off to spell 'Prestidigitation.'
Despite the parry Ms. Cross tries to make as she considers Akeelah too young for that
level of spelling, Principal Welch allows her to continue.
Under everyone's gaze, Akeelah ends up spelling the word right.
Hence, Mr. Larabee continues to throw out complex expressions that the girl spells without
a problem, at least until she gets to the word 'Pulchritude,' which she spells wrong.
Akeelah is taunted by her bullies and ends up running away.
She is overtaken by Principal Welch, who encourages her by saying that she did everything right,
and Dr. Larabee seconds him by saying that people are actually afraid of her intellect,
and that she need a coach to advance further.
Nevertheless, Akeelah leaves with the bitter thought of not participating in spelling bees
again.
Georgia encourages her back home, but Akeelah is dispirited, saying Larabee's words were
misleading but not hard.
The following day Akeelah is awakened by her brother Devon, who is about to leave again.
He tells her that she should continue with the competitions because of how good she is,
appealing to their father and his love for words.
Akeelah agrees, asking Principal Welch for at least a new outfit for the competitions,
but he tells her that she has to finish in the top 10 in the district first, and to do
that, she must train hard with Dr. Larabee.
She hesitates, and Principal Welch gives her a copy of last year's competition.
Akeelah is intimidated to see the contest at home.
Even worse, her brother Terrence shows up, discouraging her by saying she will lose to
a bunch of white kids.
Upon visiting Dr. Larabee, Akeelah finds him tending to his plants.
He starts teaching her about his knowledge of both words and competition history, explaining
that the first thing to do is learn winning words and their origins.
Larabee criticizes her ghetto talk and says that she has to speak correctly before him
from now on.
However, friction between them causes Larabee to resign, but not before being insulted with
complex words by Akeelah.
She begins to study on her own, but when she asks her mother if she will see her at the
competition, Tanya says she only sees the contest as a game and that her sister Kiana
is the one who will accompany her.
At the end of registration, Akeelah meets Javier Mendez, a boy who made it to D.C.,
placing 13th.
He tells her about Dylan Chiu, one of the most formidable spelling competitors who placed
second in the national competition.
Akeelah struggles in her first round, feeling pressured by the crowd, but makes it through
to the next one.
The match progresses, and Larabee watches everything from a distance, noting Akeelah's
progress.
Eleven competitors are left, about to decide who will be the top 10 that will pass to the
regional finals in Southern California, but just as this is announced, Kiana's baby starts
to cry, interrupting the competition.
Akeelah sends her sister out so they can continue.
In her turn, Akeelah must spell the word 'Synecdoche,' which she finds pretty complex and ends up
spelling wrong.
During the last turn, the finalist kid must spell 'Carmagnole,' and in his ignorance,
he’s secretly helped by his mother in the audience.
Kiana, who watched the competition from afar, notices this and interrupts the match to announce
the cheating.
When the lady is questioned, she denies it, blaming the burden given to the children in
the competitions.
However, her son confesses, giving Akeelah another chance to win and qualify for regionals.
Upon returning home, the girls find their mother scolding Terrence for his criminal
activities outside the house.
Before going to sleep, Akeelah considers joining a spelling group that Javier had told her
about.
She travels to Javier's school the next day, where she meets Dylan Chiu.
Dylan tells her that he studies on his own and commands her to spell 'Xanthosis,' but
Akeelah fails.
He demoralizes her and leaves her alone.
Akeelah trains along with Javier and a couple of his friends, getting along well with everyone.
Akeelah thinks that place is better for her than her school, and when she returns home,
she finds her mother waiting for her angrily.
Akeelah hadn’t told her that she would study on her own, and her mother tells that she
would have to do summer school to make up for her absences.
Akeelah now insists on the competition, but her overwhelmed mother doesn't feel it's in
her best interest, so she forces her to quit.
However, Akeelah ends up signing up the permission using a fake signature.
She shows up in front of Larabee the next day, showing him how focused she is on the
project, and asks him to be her coach.
Larabee tells her that she was lucky in the past competition, but she must try harder
to win.
When he asks her what her goals are, she only tells him she can spell.
After a few words of support, Larabee agrees to be her coach, but requires her total commitment.
Akeelah then goes to Javier's birthday party with Georgia, but her friend is intimidated
that there are only white kids, leaving Akeelah alone.
Javier talks to her, raising her spirits and even kissing her cheek.
They then go downstairs to learn that Dylan brought several Scrabble boards to play on,
with Akeelah facing Dylan.
As Dylan gains more points than everyone, Akeelah makes substantial advances.
Still, the intimidated Dylan manages to come back.
The clock ticks down and only Dylan and Akeelah are left competing, but the former ends up
narrowly winning.
Javier tells Akeelah that no one has ever come this close to beating Dylan.
As Akeelah goes around Javier's house, she finds Dylan's father scolding him for almost
losing to a black girl in a board game.
During training with Larabee, Akeelah complains about his methods, saying they are slow and
inefficient.
Now Larabee demonstrates how complex words are made up of smaller, simpler ones, deconstructing
the language and learning the roots of words.
It is then that the training continues, with Akeelah learning terms, their meanings, origins,
and uses.
When she remarks to her mother to see her at the competition, she deflects the conversation,
feeling nostalgic over the loss of her husband.
In another conversation with Larabee, he spotlights to Akeelah a peeve she has, slapping her hand
against her with each spelling.
Hence, he decides to give her a jump rope.
It turns out that each child has a different method of spelling, and Akeelah's is to keep
time, so she must take advantage of this for her competition.
From now on, Akeelah trains jumping the rope, improving in the process.
At the regional competition, it is mentioned that only the top three will advance to the
nationals.
Several children are disqualified, and as things progress, Tanya shows up at the event
in anger.
She makes a fuss to Principal Welch about telling her daughter not to compete, distracting
Akeelah in her turn.
Despite that, the girl makes it through her round, but Welch calls Akeelah to talk to
her mother in the middle of the competition.
They allow Akeelah to do so, but she has to come back quickly to not be disqualified.
Outside, she confesses using a fake signature on the participation form, making her mother
furious about it.
As an argument takes place, Javier tries to buy time in the competition for Akeelah.
Larabee introduces himself to Tanya as her daughter's coach, and Welch tells her that
Akeelah is getting extra credit at school for doing this competition.
When Tanya asks Akeelah why she kept all this hidden from her, Akeelah replies that every
time she brought up the subject, she didn't want to hear it.
It is decided that Akeelah's punishment will be double duties for the next three months,
managing to return to the stage on time, thanks to Javier.
Now with her mother's permission, Akeelah can go on to place third, only surpassed by
Dylan and Javier, respectively.
Akeelah becomes popular at her school, honoring her with a speech.
When Georgia invites her to her house to celebrate, Akeelah is pulled aside for an interview,
leaving her friend alone.
Larabee watches the interview from home a little worried.
At their next meeting, Akeelah fails to get any of Larabee's words right, as he senses
that Akeelah has gotten a little carried away, having missed the previous day's meeting.
After an argument, Larabee accidentally calls Akeelah 'Denise,' worrying her for not knowing
who she is.
Larabee gives her flashcards with 5,000 possible words for the national competition.
When Akeelah wonders how she will learn so much in such a short time, Larabee tells her
that she will learn all that on her own, having nothing else to teach her and indicating that
her coaching is over.
Before leaving, a saddened Akeelah leaves Larabee the reason why she missed last day's
class, a small Christmas gift for him.
While studying, Akeelah calls Georgia to go out together, but she replies angrily to go
with her friends from the other school.
Her family calls her to show that she appeared on TV, with the neighborhood celebrating how
one of their own is achieving so much.
However, Akeelah leaves in tears and explains to her mother all the pressure she has felt
lately.
This forces Tanya to talk to Larabee, explaining how Akeelah's father was murdered when she
was only six years old.
Despite this, Larabee feels that stopping teaching her is the right decision.
Tanya talks to Akeelah, explaining her initial fear of competition.
When she was young, Tanya had a scholarship to medical school but left because she felt
out of place, and didn't want the same fate for her daughter.
Tanya agrees to be her new coach from now on.
On her way to school studying, Akeelah is surprised by her brother Terrence, who pesters
her with the flashcards.
That's when Derrick-T shows up in his car, asking Terrence about Akeelah, as he had seen
her on TV.
Despite Terrence's haughty attitude, Derrick-T tells him to stop fooling around and help
his little sister with the competition, as he notices Akeelah's determined look.
He comments about how he won a fifth-grade contest with a poem, and Akeelah says she'd
like to read it.
Derrick tells her she will once she wins the competition.
Derrick leaves, and Terrence stays behind to help Akeelah.
Now Akeelah is supported by various members of the community to study, including Mrs.
Cross and Derrick-T himself with his gang.
Upon finishing with her jump rope, Akeelah notices the initials "D-L" on the rope handles,
so she decides to visit Larabee, indicating to him that she has already learned all 5,000
words.
She also comments to him about how spelling was her grieving process during her father's
death, and that this could serve Larabee well during his mourning, leaving him the flashcards
and jump rope.
Larabee confesses how his life fell apart after the death of his daughter Denise, who
was just a couple of years younger than Akeelah, and how he and his wife separated as a result,
depressing him to continue teaching.
She convinces him to stay by her side, and he convinces her to have the confidence to
beat Dylan Chiu.
Akeelah goes to Georgia's house to make amends and ends up telling her how she is also invited
to the competition in D.C.
Javier flies on the plane along with the girls, feeling a little queasy, but recovering after
a kiss from Akeelah on the cheek.
In Washington, the children tour the White House, and during their evening conversation,
Akeelah decides to invite Dylan Chiu to join them.
As she goes to his room, she is greeted by his father, who tells her that Dylan is too
busy studying.
Akeelah tells him that it's okay to get some rest, something that cheers Dylan up, but
she is promptly tackled by his father, shutting the door on her, but not before Akeelah leaves
Dylan a can of soda.
The next day, the national competition is about to begin, and among Akeelah's ranks
are Principal Welch, Larabee, Tanya, Georgia, and Devon.
Everyone else watches Akeelah on TV, giving support to her.
She notices Dylan a little tense during the competition, knowing all the pressure on him.
Some kids hit and some miss, with Javier, Dylan, and Akeelah managing to advance several
turns.
There comes the point where Akeelah must spell the word 'Argillaceous,' which makes her hesitate.
She decides to simulate her jump rope during her thinking, managing to clear her mind and
say the word correctly.
In the twelfth round, there are only five competitors left.
Unfortunately, Javier fails to get the word 'Merovingian,' disqualifying but not discouraging
him.
He wishes good luck to Akeelah, who ends up being the finalist along with Dylan after
a while.
At a recess before the showdown, Akeelah finds Dylan again being reprimanded by his father,
who tells him that if he loses the competition, he will be in second place all his life, as
this is the last year Dylan can compete because of his age.
Larabee shows up to tell Akeelah that she has done a superb job and gave him the impetus
to continue teaching.
He notices something strange about Akeelah and knows Dylan has something to do with it.
Tanya thanks Larabee for all he has done for her daughter, and then the competition begins.
The commentators say that if one of the kids fails, their opponent has to spell the same
word along with another one to win, and that it's hard to exhaust all 25 rounds of words,
as the ones selected for the finals are too difficult to say correctly.
Akeelah notices that Dylan's dad is the only one who doesn't clap at the competition, even
on his son's victories.
When it's her turn to spell, she is given the word 'Xanthosis,' the same word Dylan
asked her in their first meeting.
To Larabee and Dylan's surprise, Akeelah misspells the word, giving him a chance to win.
However, when it's Dylan's turn to say the word correctly, he too gets it wrong on purpose,
asking for some water to make time.
He tells Akeelah that he knows she loses on purpose, and urges her not to lose like that.
She tells him she's doing it for his father, but Dylan tells her that if she doesn't try
hard, nothing will have been worth it for either of them.
Now Akeelah has to spell 'Effleurage,' which she accomplishes easily.
Both children sweep through the words, coming out to the middle of the competition.
They are told that if they make it to the end, they will both be co-champions, which
has never happened.
Now the two compete in a friendly manner, down to the last two words.
Dylan manages to say his word, winning his part in the competition, so now it's up to
Akeelah not to make a mistake.
Akeelah's term ends up being 'Pulchritude,' the same word she missed when she met Larabee
in her first competition.
She ends up spelling it right, winning and ending with a tie along Dylan.
It all concludes with Akeelah remembering the support of everyone around her, feeling
like she finally fits in the world.