It’s always an interesting experience to see a movie on a plane. Generally, its something you’d never choose to see (RV, Failure to Launch, Christmas With The Kranks, etc), but you plug the headphones in because what the hell else are you going to do?
Mostly, in-flight movies are nothing more than a distraction, forgotten nearly instantly, or a good sleep-inducer. VERY rarely do you see one that’s worth remembering or commenting on.
Recently, I actually saw an in-flight move that WAS worth remembering. And commenting on.
Initially, I was less-than-psyched to see Akeelah and The Bee. My memory of it consisted of a somewhat-favorable DMN review and perhaps a blurb on it by The Great Cogill, but never did it occur to me to go pay to see it. However, the old captive-audience thing came into play, and I went ahead and plugged my Bose Noise-Canceling Headphones (FABULOUS product, btw) in and tuned to channel 13.
What a pleasant surprise! A small film about an 11-year-old spelling prodigy (huh?) from South LA works wonderfully. A few big names (Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett [hot, btw], Curtis Armstrong [Booger from Revenge of the Nerds], Tzi Ma) are mingled with a few really good kids – keep an eye out for Keke Palmer (Akeelah), the kid’s got something – and everyone delivers. There’s some racial awareness – a few small bits about W.E.B. DuBois and Frederick Douglass, but nothing that will beat you over the head. Mostly, this is a movie about a kid, her family, and her community, and it could be anywhere.
The ending could have been overly sappy, but was executed so well, I didn’t even think about the potentially sappiness until afterwards. The performances were all superior, the script rang true, and the characters were all real people, a few of whom will surprise you with their depth.
Go rent this one. It’s suitable for kids, would make good family viewing, and is an unexpected pleasure.
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