Documentary
Cast
Harry Altman, Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April DeGideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg, Ashley White
Director
Jeffrey Blitz
Video Release Date
January 20, 2004
Rating
G
My Rating
A-
I knew, from the opening scene, that this movie wouldn't be boring. Harry, one of the eight kids the film follows, is told to spell the word "banns." He spends so much time making funny faces and muttering things like "There has to be something I can think of" or "Oh, I shouldn't have said that outloud" that I couldn't wait for him to be interviewed.
The first interview with Angela was kind of boring, but I had to laugh at the two old people that her dad worked for and the fact that her school gave her a pep rally when she was going to the National Spelling Bee. I felt so sorry for Ted. The counselor that put him up to the spelling bee told the cameras that it was an opportunity for Ted to meet kids that are like him, because he didn't have that many friends in school. I thought that was awful. April's parents provided the entertainment in her segment. Her mom was always saying "Bee happy�B-E-E" and a sign on their porch said something about a hive. April did say something funny though�when asked about her hobbies other that spelling she said, "I'm a vegetarian." Going on, Neil's dad was psycho. He drilled Neil with about 4,000 words a day. His parents told the cameras that Neil was pretty normal and athletic. There is nothing "normal" about spelling 4,000 words a day�that's just insane�and Neil couldn't do a proper push-up. Nupur was basically normal�it was her brother and the three guys she beat who were kind of funny. Her brother was sitting in a Darth Maul chair and wearing a Star Wars T-shirt�which actually isn't that bad because I, for one, love Star Wars. The guys she beat were standing at a fence complaining about how the wanted to win and blah, blah, blah. Nupur's teacher scared me the most though. I can't even talk about her. On to the next kid�Emily. She was the most normal out of all of them. A bit weird but weird is ok because I'm weird so it all works. Now that I think about it though�she said she had an "au pair" and I don't know anyone with an "au pair" so that's kind of weird. Ashley, from Washington D.C., was hilarious. She told the camera, "My life is like a movie�I go through trials and tribulations but I finally overcome them." Then her mom was like, "They ain't publicizing�or�recognizing my daughter." You just need to see the movie to understand it. Last, but certainly not least, my favorite, Harry. When he was being interviewed, he told a horrible joke and started cracking up in the end. Then later, he points up at the microphone and says, "Is this edible?" Then he starts talking like a robot and asks, "Do I sound like a musical robot?" while using the robot voice. It was hilarious.
The kids each have their own unique personalities and you can't help but like them, even though some were a bit strange. This grabs you and doesn't let you go until the winner is finally revealed at the end. At first, I thought it might be kind of boring�I mean the movie is about the Spelling Bee. But the kids gave the movie its life, its humor, its everything. In the end, I was so happy that I had rented this movie and had not wasted my time with a movie that my brother would have picked out.
