Talking To The Screen
Spellbound
?Spellbound? was nominated for best documentary at the 2003 Academy Awards where it was beat out for the top prize by ?Bowling for Columbine?.
?Spellbound? follows eight children on their quests to win the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 1999. For as long as I can remember, the National Spelling Bee has held the esteem and fascination of the entire country, for exactly one day of the year. I don?t know of anyone who has ever looked forward to watching The Bee on ESPN. I?ve never heard of any Bee BBQs where hipsters gather with beer, burgers and a dictionary. That being said, I also can?t think of anyone who?s never heard of The Bee, or who hasn?t seen at least one word misspelled by a sweaty pre-pubescent and wincing at the paradoxically soothing ding signifying error.
Spelling champions are dorks to the nth degree. They are precocious. They have freakish memories. They are hysterically funny. And as in any child competition, the parents are as quirky as our buzzing little spellers. With eight competitors (and accompanying families) worth of material, I expect this movie to write itself. Seven minutes for each kid. Twenty five minutes for the competition proper. Wham-o. Ninety minute documentary. Where?s my check?
While ?Spellbound? doesn?t disappoint with respect to adorable budding geniuses and proud (while nonetheless twisted) parents, director Jeffrey Blitz (of no other claims to fame) took the careful thoughtfulness to go above and beyond. With an entirely satisfying surface layer, Blitz constructed his telling of the National Spelling Bee as a microcosm of idyllic America, where all comers are given equal opportunity and hard work is justly compensated.
The message carried by ?Spellbound? may appear kitschy in comparison to piercing lens of ?Bowling for Columbine?, but I, for one, won?t deride either. Eternal vigilance may be the price of liberty, but exalting the hidden slivers of utopia makes the fight worthwhile.
?Spellbound? follows eight children on their quests to win the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in 1999. For as long as I can remember, the National Spelling Bee has held the esteem and fascination of the entire country, for exactly one day of the year. I don?t know of anyone who has ever looked forward to watching The Bee on ESPN. I?ve never heard of any Bee BBQs where hipsters gather with beer, burgers and a dictionary. That being said, I also can?t think of anyone who?s never heard of The Bee, or who hasn?t seen at least one word misspelled by a sweaty pre-pubescent and wincing at the paradoxically soothing ding signifying error.
Spelling champions are dorks to the nth degree. They are precocious. They have freakish memories. They are hysterically funny. And as in any child competition, the parents are as quirky as our buzzing little spellers. With eight competitors (and accompanying families) worth of material, I expect this movie to write itself. Seven minutes for each kid. Twenty five minutes for the competition proper. Wham-o. Ninety minute documentary. Where?s my check?
While ?Spellbound? doesn?t disappoint with respect to adorable budding geniuses and proud (while nonetheless twisted) parents, director Jeffrey Blitz (of no other claims to fame) took the careful thoughtfulness to go above and beyond. With an entirely satisfying surface layer, Blitz constructed his telling of the National Spelling Bee as a microcosm of idyllic America, where all comers are given equal opportunity and hard work is justly compensated.
The message carried by ?Spellbound? may appear kitschy in comparison to piercing lens of ?Bowling for Columbine?, but I, for one, won?t deride either. Eternal vigilance may be the price of liberty, but exalting the hidden slivers of utopia makes the fight worthwhile.