Lately there has been an absolute boom in crazy word competition movies. Movies about Scrabble, spelling bee competitions and crossword puzzles (all available at our fantastic library by the way). Sure those movies are all documentaries, but still it's almost enough to be classified as a subcategory.
Thus, with a worn track ahead, Doug Atchison decides to toss his latest piece to the pile. This particular morsel takes the geeky, pressure-cooker atmosphere that is a spelling bee and, combining it with the most watered down over used poor-kid-beats-all-odds-to-beat-rich-kids plot, he creates an entirely watchable film.
A black girl with gang-bang brother, dead dad, and overworked/acting mother dares to dream of becoming a champion speller. Oh, but she's a spicy meatball with issues, and must be coached by the golden pipes of the always-reliable Laurence Fishburne. Together they overcome obstacles, adversity and some very big words. An "Our Gang"-like group of kids surrounds the contest and it's no use putting money on who's going to get cut first - you can see it coming a mile away.
If you keep in mind you're going to see a movie where a little girl obviously win a national spelling bee, you'll be all right. If you want the real deal, with far more tension and anguish, check out the aforementioned documentaries (did I mention our fantastic library?).
On the chance you prefer something with a predictable Disney-esque formula, well then, you make yourself a date with the Bee.
