MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 61 this week

Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

 -  Drama  -  28 April 2006 (USA)
7.4
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.4/10 from 11,418 users   Metascore: 72/100
Reviews: 167 user | 90 critic | 30 from Metacritic.com

A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.

Director:

Writer:

Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 2652 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 500 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 603 titles created 6 months ago
 
a list of 50 titles created 18 Feb 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Akeelah and the Bee (2006) on IMDb 7.4/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Akeelah and the Bee.
11 wins & 13 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

The Help (2011)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

Director: Tate Taylor
Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard
Moneyball (2011)
Biography | Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.

Director: Bennett Miller
Stars: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
An Education (2009)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.

Director: Lone Scherfig
Stars: Carey Mulligan, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina
Precious II (2009)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Director: Lee Daniels
Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with ... See full summary »

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Stars: Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

An afro-american teen writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham
Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An insurance salesman/adjuster discovers his entire life is actually a TV show.

Director: Peter Weir
Stars: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
The Namesake (2006)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.

Director: Mira Nair
Stars: Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan
I Am Sam (2001)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A mentally retarded man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter, and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.

Director: Jessie Nelson
Stars: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning
Flight I (2012)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

An airline pilot saves almost all his passengers on his malfunctioning airliner which eventually crashed, but an investigation into the accident reveals something troubling.

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Nadine Velazquez, Denzel Washington, John Goodman
Philadelphia (1993)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell
Adventure | Western
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.6/10 X  

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
Javier (as JR Villarreal)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Steve (as Jeris Lee Poindexter)
...
Edit

Storyline

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. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. 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. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers. Written by Shannon Patrick Sullivan <shannon@mun.ca>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Changing the world... one word at a time.

Genres:

Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A som i Akeelah  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$6,011,585 (USA) (28 April 2006)

Gross:

$18,811,135 (USA) (14 July 2006)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filmmakers initially considered Sidney Poitier to play Dr. Larabee before deciding they wanted someone younger, and then selected Laurence Fishburne. See more »

Goofs

The plaque on the wall in Dr. Larabee's office, which he makes Akeelah read, wrongly attributes the quote to Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural speech. This is a common mistake, but Nelson Mandela has never used that quote in any of his published speeches. The quote is from Marianne Williamson an American spiritual activist. See more »

Quotes

Mr. Welch: So whoever wins the school bee today, gets to represent Crenshaw at the district bee next month.
Akeelah: Why would anybody want to represent a school where they can't even put doors on the toilet stalls?
[coughing]
Mr. Welch: Akeelah, if we can't show students can perform were not going to have money for books let alone bathroom doors.
[pause]
Mr. Welch: Now I want you to do the bee today, okay?
Akeelah: So everyone can call me a freak and a brainiac? No I ain't down for no spelling bee.
Mr. Welch: Well, maybe you'd be down for spending the rest...
See more »

Connections

Features E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) See more »

Soundtracks

"Whatever It Takes"
Written by Patrice Germain
Performed by Frankie
Courtesy of Lovecat Music
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Among the best, without a doubt
29 April 2006 | by (Dallas, TX) – See all my reviews

Akeelah and the Bee is an excellent movie, and it deserves universal recognition for the unbelievably powerful message, storyline, and theme evident throughout. First of all, Starbucks's co-operation with Laurence Fishburne to produce the movie was a great move on everybody's part. And though many critics may say that Akeelah and the Bee was just another "inspirational film," lacking the originality and pungency necessary for good cinema, the people with such a belief just don't get it. Like Rudy (1993), Akeelah and the Bee is most certainly original in that the story is plausible, meaningful, and very emotional. The only real difference between the two films is that whereas Rudy is based on a true story, Akeelah and the Bee is completely fictional. Also, the fact that all of the real protagonists in the film are minorities brings an incredible new level to the silver screen. Very few recently released movies feature an African-American female--a youth, no less--in the role of the main character. And for viewers to see Akeelah--as well as her mother, her siblings, her best friend, her coach, and her other two spelling-bee companions: all of whom are minorities--achieve such great heights is most definitely "inspirational," and in the right sense. Even for the movie-viewer whose favorites are full of action, violence, and gore, Akeelah and the Bee strikes the heart directly. And for those who like the tear-jerkers, no better movie exists than this one. Without question, this film is one of the best I have seen in a long time, and many will agree that it is an exceptional piece of work. I would honestly be shocked if someone really believed in his or her mind that Akeelah and the Bee "was a waste of time."


49 of 63 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
The one reason I responded to this movie... SubiStar
Keke Or Dakota? integritynrespect
where did u c it? stuart-g
Based off a true story greenemerald10
The movie was......... mmb1998
Keke Palmer's performance... BWGrainy
Discuss Akeelah and the Bee (2006) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page