Akeelah and the Bee (and other comments)

On May 2, 2006, I went to see Akeelah and the Bee. I had no idea what this film was about, and it wasn't until when I looked at the synopsis of this film online, and looked at movie reviews online that I realized that this was a good movie, and that the premise of this movie was the fact that it's an eleven year old girl who attends a not-so-hot school is attempting to win the National Spelling Bee.

Frankly, I have very little interest in spelling bees. In fact, I find them painfully boring to watch on TV. Usually, just flipping past the channel where they are showing the spelling bee is enough to make me go and watch something else. After watching this film, I have new found respect for spelling bees. This doesn't make me a fan, but I can appreciate the hard work that goes into preparing for one.

Akeelah and the Bee is a very touching movie. I didn't cry, or my eyes didn't water, but the storyline is very well laid out. The dialogue, especially the ones between children, are very cleverly written.

The one thing I didn't like about the film, and this had nothing to do with storyline or acting, is the Asian (possibly Chinese) parent who kept pushing his son to win the National Spelling Bee. He kept pressuring his son to learn all the words, and looked down upon anyone who was attempting to challenge his son's spot on the podium, as champion speller. He looked down especially on Akeelah, because she's African-American. That is so wrong. Just because she's African-American, it does not make her any more stupid, or any less worthy of being a participant in a spelling bee.

I also really liked how the community in her neighbourhood all helped her out with trying to memorize words, as well as routing for her while she was at the spelling bee. It's nice when the community supports you, it's quite wonderful!

One other thing that bugged me about this film is the fact that it was financed by Starbucks... It was a Starbucks production. Stupid Starbucks.

And now, some other things I wanted to comment on.

On my way back from the theatre, I stopped by the Blockbuster, just to be nosy, and see what new films they put out under their pre-visioned titles.... And I found out that they have a new special... It's now 2 for $20 (between $10.00 and $16.99 or higher), 2 for $14 (between $7.99 and $9.99) and 2 for $10 or 3 for $16 (for $7.99 or below). I am not too sure about the third deal, but the price range will be similar.

So, before I left the store, I asked a clerk who works there to see if Blockbuster gives money back on pre-visioned DVDs, since I had bought 4 movies in the original 2 for $24 special, less than two weeks ago. If I had known that they were going to change the price, I would have waited until this week. She looked at me, kind of funny, and told me that she highly doubts it. In other places where I have purchased stuff, when the item went on sale a week or two after when I purchased it, they gave me my money back. And usually, most stores allow for a month. Blockbuster would be stupid to not give my money back. I'm actually quite pissed that they do not do cash back, but even if they give me the equivalent of $8 + tax back for an in-store credit, I would be happy, since I could use that credit towards my next purchase. However, if they do not budge, then I will probably never buy from them again, and go to Videotron or something, where they also sell used copies of DVDs. So, I'll have to go to Blockbuster tomorrow and attempt to get my money back. I'm glad I saved my receipts.