Spellbound

Rating:
Summary: Life as a Spelling Bee
Review: Yes, it's a little slow, but interesting. They picked a very diverse group of kids to profile. The interesting thing to me was the different approaches each family took. Some of the families, like the Indian's boy's father, pulled out all the stops and really got involved to help his son. Other families were more passive in their support, and maybe somewhat baffled by their child's drive to compete. The one parent I thought missed the point was the Washington DC mom. She seems always to be looking for the negative. Even though she has a bright, healthy, self-motivated child, she is not happy. Not surpiringly her child takes it the hardest when she is eliminated from the competition.

Three things were very clear and reassuring (since this was real life on file):
- Intelligence alone, without hard work, falls short
- Knowing how to handle defeat may be a bigger 'win' than the top prize
- At the end of everything, no matter how the kids did, it was obvious that their parents loved them

Rating:
Summary: D-U-H, duh
Review: SPELLBOUND is an opportunity for the average adult viewer to both reminisce about the terror of being confronted with a word - say, "serendipitous" - in a grade school spelling bee, and concurrently realize that one remains orthographically challenged decades later.

SPELLBOUND follows eight elementary school students - 3 boys, 5 girls - from regional spelling contests to the Superbowl of orthography, the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. "Follows" is misleading as, in order to produce the documentary, the film makers apparently had to wait until the event was concluded, and then work backwards to tell the stories of a select handful of contestants out of the 200+ attending. After all, one of the eight proved to be the winner, and how could the film's creators have known? And the demographic diversity of The Eight reflects a conscientious effort at political correctness.

As I watched The Eight prepare and drill for the big game, usually with the help of parents, I realized that spelling proficiency at this level is an arcane talent not necessarily indicative of a well-rounded personality. (Much like a scientist so immersed in the life cycle of H-E-L-E-O-P-L-A-N-K-T-O-N that he can't balance a checkbook.) I was occasionally left thinking they should read more, as when a contestant could successfully spell a relatively common word while not knowing its meaning. That's why I was rooting for Nupur Lala, a young girl of Indian heritage - she seemed otherwise so "normal".

When the most obnoxious of The Eight succumbed to B-A-N-N-S (as in "marriage banns") and the boy's mother whined that he would've known it had the family been Catholic, and he himself complained that the contest's moderator hadn't pronounced the word properly - he did; I was born Catholic; I know - I decided this wasn't a marathon for sissies. When the going gets tough, the tough need to get going. As elimination rounds were played out and the words crossed the outer boundaries of my SpellCheck software and left me without a clue, the tension mounted.

Compared to such phenomenal documentaries as WINGED MIGRATION or THE ENDURANCE, SPELLBOUND rates perhaps one star. But, let's be J-O-N-N-I-C-K (jonnick = fair). This is a well-done and engaging portrayal of what I assume is perhaps a uniquely American ritual. And for Nupur, honor is due.

Rating:
Summary: I thoroughly recommend this film!
Review: I was lucky enough to be at the premiere of this film, in May of 2003 at the National Spelling Bee. We watched it at the beginning of what is dubbed "Bee Week," and if you have seen Spellbound I'm sure you can imagine what it did to my nerves. Thoughts such as "People study THAT much?" went through my head, and it was a bit difficult to enjoy the film with so much nervousness. Five of the spellers (all of the girls and none of the boys, coincidentally), the producer, and director were all there to answer the speller's questions about the film. "How did you spend the money?" was, of course, asked of Nupur Lala. (She said she saved most of it for college.) Anyway, I had a great time and it was neat to meet all of those people and get autographs, etc.

The movie didn't come out on video for quite a while, and unfortunately I haven't yet gotten to see the DVD version (I can't wait to see all those special features!). I have, however, watched the VHS (my uncle gave me the screener), and enjoyed it even more the second time around! Even though I don't personally know this "generation" of spellers (since it's the 1999 bee), the documentary is inspiring and beneficial to any speller (yet enjoyable for anyone else, as well). Watching Spellbound made my siblings think "Hey... that might be fun!" (And my pictures of DC helped too. This year they're studying hard!)

To conclude, I recommend this film to any and everyone, but ESPECIALLY anyone in 8th grade or younger who is eligible to participate in the Bee. Find more info on study materials at http://www.spellingbee.com and look into your local bees. It's a lot of fun and no, people rarely study 8 hours a day (1999 was a particularly hard year, I would say). However, it does take a lot of dedication so I don't reccomend it for everyone! Have fun & buy this movie as a starting point!

Rating:
Summary: How do you spell banns?
Review: I recently rented this wonderful documentary and it blew me away. Who knew that a spelling bee could be so entertaining. The kids are all pretty likeable(except for one, who is so obnoxious that I predict many wedgies in his future) and you will have a hard time choosing who to root for. They all seem pretty much like normal, well adjusted kids who just want to win.
There are some great and hilarious moments as well. Like when the son of Indian immigrants has a hard time spelling Darjeeling, the one contestant's mother who resembles Edith Bunker so much I keep waiting for her to shriek "Archieeeee", the weird kid's impression of a musical robot, etc.
The kids who were featured in this documentary are a very diverse lot, both racially and economically. So what you get is a nice slice of Americana. This is the documentary that should have won the Oscar.


Rating:
Summary: What a refreshing change of pace
Review: If you are like me and you have had it with cinema's over-the-top obsession with the coolness of traumatized youth (e.g. one more "Thirteen" and I will scream!), then you will be set back a little by the surprise to be had here. This is a great documentary! Shows a real slice of modern American living, focusing on our youth. This documentary has a lot to say about a lot of things, but the nice thing is that it doesn't come out and tell you that. If you want to pick up on them you can. Otherwise enjoy the suspense of watching the competition unfold. Who would have thought that a spelling bee would make for such interesting and compelling entertainment? Maybe filmmakers will get the idea that sex, drugs, and violence aren't all there is to being young.

Rating:
Summary: I laughed, I sighed
Review: I got this movie because my Mom wanted to see it. I never really cared for watching the Spelling Bee's on ESPN, I thought it was all kind of boring. But this movie puts it into new light. You get to see the stories of 8 kids, how they prepare for the international spelling bee and how they make it there. You realize the stress and hard work these kids go thru for it all. Even without the spelling bee aspect it would have been a good documentary on the differences between kids all over the country and how they handle the same situations in so many ways.

Rating:
Summary: "I don't think [winning] really helped me in my love life!"
Review: Spellbound isn't just about the annual Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington. The movie is also a quite engaging portrait about the lives of everyday American kids. Deliberately chosen from different cultural and economic backgrounds, the eight children portrayed do a great job of showing the rich and diverse tapestry of the American family. Loosely divided into two sections, the first half deals in-depth with their home lives, containing interviews with their parents and siblings, their teachers, and also the children's' efforts to win their respective regional spelling competitions. The second half recounts the big day in Washington, where the suspense of the competition is ratcheted up a notch, and all the kids have to perform under a pressure with the judges, organizers and parents looking on.

The kids are of course terrific - some are in it for the fun and enjoyment while others are taking it very seriously with an unadulterated determination to win. Angela is a gangly brunette and daughter of Mexican laborers in Texas. Nupur lives in Tampa, Florida and is the daughter of immigrants from India. She's a veteran of the 1998 national spelling bee but was eliminated in the third round. Ted, the son of farming parents, is a big, soft-spoken math lover from Rella, Missouri. Emily is a suburban horse rider and singer in a girl's chorus from New Haven, Connecticut. Ashley is a cute and bubbly black girl with a brilliant smile from a poor part of Washington DC. Neil lives in San Clemente, California and is child of wealthy Indian immigrants. Neil trains hard and is pushed by his over achieving father. April is the adorably eccentric daughter of former factory worker, now pub owner in Amber, Pennsylvania. And Harry from Glen Rock, New Jersey is an endearingly extraverted jokester who likes to talk like a musical robot.

Viewers will probably find themselves trying to spell the words for themselves as the tension mounts and the competition heats up. This is a quiet, well-mannered competition where the heroes are loners and thinkers that have a love of words and wordplay. There are also no hard feelings when the various kids are eliminated and some of them feel positively relieved that they don't have to study the dictionary anymore. A couple of the kids work and train unbelievably hard to prepare but none of the parents seem overly obnoxious or pushy, they're just wonderfully supportive, and several are loveably kooky.

There are some nice additions to the film with interviews with past winners, and there are some great reaction shots with the kids acting triumphant as they leave the mike after getting a hard word right or looking crest-fallen when a wrongly spelt word takes them out of the competition. The viewer will really feel for the kids who look befuddled and tense as they encounter an unfamiliar word. Spellbound is great fun and is a film that the whole family can endlessly enjoy. Mike Leonard September 04.