Akeelah and the Bee
Year | 2006 |
Starring | Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne |
Director(s) | Doug Atchison |
Rating | PG |
Genre(s) | Drama, Family |
Runtime | 112 min |
Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson’s life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She’s smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school’s principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of — but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life.