Parents Television Council Reviews

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Akeelah and the Bee

By Caroline Schulenburg

Release Date: April 28, 2006

MPAA RATING: PG for some language
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer

Genre: Drama

Recommended Age: 8+

Akeelah and the Bee is heartwarming and thoroughly family-friendly movie that celebrates the world of words and love of language set against the dark and often defeating circumstances of life in South L.A.  Families with children 8 and older will enjoy it tremendously.

The story opens with eleven year old Akeelah Anderson (Palmer) an exceptionally bright girl who is languishing academically at an under-funded, all-but-forgotten inner-city school.  Her consistently high spelling test scores capture the attention of her teacher and the school's principal (Armstrong). Desperate to let the powers that be know that Crenshaw Middle School is not a lost cause, Principal Welch convinces Akeelah to enter the school's spelling bee in the hopes that her talent will help prove the school has great potential.

Akeelah is skeptical about entering the spelling bee. At school she faces ridicule by other students who see academic achievement as a betrayal of the street ethos that provides them sanctuary.  She is encouraged by her older brother Devon, who tells her that she can do anything she wants. But Devon is a member of the Air Force and can't provide her with the day to day support she needs. Her mother Tanya is a widow who works long hours and is trying to protect her younger son from the influences of a local gang leader.  Nonetheless, with the encouragement of Principal Welch and under the tutelage of Dr. Larabee (Fishburne), a college professor and former Scripps National Spelling Bee finalist himself, Akeelah begins her training.

Akeelah trains diligently and competes in district and regional spelling bees, which force her to come to terms with her family and her community. At the district spelling bee she befriends a young man named Javier Villareal, who comes from a wealthier neighborhood.   Javier doesn't see Akeelah's more depressed surroundings as any reason to doubt her potential. He invites her to study with his spelling club at school and even to his own birthday party. Akeelah's tutor, Dr. Larabee encourages her to take a close look at her otherwise sub-par academic work, her attitudes towards training, and her goals in life. He wants her to rise above the street ethos, dream of something better for herself and commit to pursuing it.

When Akeelah wins her regional spelling bee, Dr. Larabee makes several thousand flashcards and tells her that she is in charge of her training for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Akeelah feels betrayed by Dr. Larabee. But his wise decision forces her to turn to the people in her community.  Akeelah enlists everyone from fellow students to neighbors and strangers to help her with her study.   Not only does she become someone they are proud of, she becomes someone who makes them proud of themselves.

Akeelah and the Bee is a sincere celebration of family and community. While it contains some mild profanity and mild violence involving a schoolyard bullying scene, the overall message couldn't be more positive. This movie is highly recommended for kids ages 8 and up.

Questionable Content:

• Nine profanities are used: hell, damn, a** and s***. 

• Other offensive phrases used are "pee my pants" and "turd juggler."  However in the context of an almost two-hour movie these language issues seem negligible. 

• Violence includes a playground fight where two girls bully Akeelah. 

• Scenes involving deceit occur twice.  First Akeelah sneaks off to Javier's birthday party without her mother knowing it.  She incurs no consequences for that.  Secondly she signs her deceased father's name on the Spelling Bee permission slip after her mother told her no.  She is caught and ends up paying consequences for that decision, although she is still allowed to compete in the Spelling Bee. 

• The only sexual reference is to Akeelah's sister who appears to be a young single mother with an infant.

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