In 'Akeelah and the Bee' Keke Palmer plays Akeelah Anderson, a bright 11 year old who just wants to fit in. Despite her intelligence, she is not a good student. She is unmotivated and often misses class. Since the death of her father five years ago, she only seems content when she imagines playing Scrabble with him. Nevertheless, her talent for spelling gives her an opportunity to shine.

This is on of the better movies I have seen this year. This heart-warming and inspirational story is about a girl who, despite all the hardships at home, finds a way to utilize her skill at Scrabble. With a little help from her coach (Laurence Fishburne) she not only learns a lot about language, but she learns how to appreciate the environment around her. She finds out that she is rich in ways she did not realize.

It is very difficult to find fault with this movie, there is something in it for everyone (even a few surprises). Both Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne are awesome. I was particularly impressed with Keke Palmer. I would compare it to 'The Karate Kid' meets 'Finding Forrester'.

Akeelah is a very bright girl living in South Los Angeles. When the film begins, she has little to motivate her and her great mind is going to waste. When the school spelling bee approaches, she is reticent to participate because there is a climate in the school that encourages "not buying into the system"--in other words, accepting failure as the only alternative.

Not surprisingly, Akeelah eventually enters the bee and does well, though she isn't exactly motivated to go further--especially because most of the people around her don't recognize her wonderful gift. Again, not surprisingly, she eventually goes forward and gains instant fame for going as far as she has. Will she make it to the nationals and if so, will she win? You'll just have to see. However, I will say that although some of the film is formulaic (after all, they wouldn't make a film with this title if she didn't win at some level!),it does offer some nice twists and ends very well.

The movie features wonderful performances all around, a very good script and it is truly inspiring. I am sure than there are some reviews out there that talk about this movie using terms like "formulaic" or "sappy", but I truly found this film inspirational AND different. I especially liked the movie because I am a school teacher and it's nice to have a film that minority students can be inspired by that's NOT a sports film! In many ways, I see this movie as a public service since it encourages kids from the less privileged neighborhoods to aspire to intellectual heights.

This film is a must-see for kids and families, but ANYONE will enjoy this film if they give it a chance--it's not just some feel good movie with no substance.

Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) loves to memorize words, but her school is the failing Crenshaw School. She skips school and fails classes. Her father is dead. Her brother gets into trouble. Her mother (Angela Bassett) is struggling, and ignores Akeelah. The principal Mr Welch (Curtis Armstrong) forces her into doing the spelling bee, and enlists his friend Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) to help coach her.

Keke has both vulnerability and pluckiness. I like her in this role. It's a simple underdog story. At times, it feels like the film piles on the obstacles a little too thick. The other problem is that a spelling bee isn't always thrilling. But it doesn't get better than Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. It's a good uplifting movie.