Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Directed by: Doug Atchison

Starring: Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett, and Laurence Fishburne

Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an 11-year old girl in Crenshaw with a special gift—the ability to spell really well.  She lives in Los Angeles with her mother Tanya (Angela Bassett).  She shows off her orthographic skills in front of English professor Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) at a school spelling bee.  Larabee decides to find out how well she can really spell and gives her some tough words to spell.  She does so well that he thinks she has the potential to compete in the National Spelling Bee if she works hard enough.  Her mother thinks focusing her attention on a spelling bee will take her away from her schoolwork of which she hasn’t been doing too much lately anyway.  With Dr. Larabee’s help, Akeelah disobeys her mother and works her way to the top of the spelling world.  Akeelah and the Bee is a rousing underdog story that you’ll love from start to finish.  For those of you who could use a vocabulary class (and you know who you are), this heartwarming film would be a good way to learn something for once.  Don’t drink too much alcohol either; it’s a kids movie.