Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
Documentary feature that follows eight children as they win regional Spelling Bee competitions to finally
face each other (and two hundred or so other winners) in the 1999 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee finals in Washington, D.C. The
featured spellers come from different backgrounds, parts of the country and social classes, and they are Harry Altman, Ted Brigham, Neil
Kadakia, Emily Stagg, Angela Arenivar, April Degideo, Nupur Lala and Ashley White -- one of them does win the national prize. Directed by
Jeff Blitz. [1:37]
SEX/NUDITY 0 - None.
VIOLENCE/GORE 0 - There's no violence, but the tension and stress of competitions are palpable. Children are shown outside
their school and we hear that there was a bomb threat so they had to evacuate.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Competitions and competitiveness, pressure, stress, racism, social class, opportunity, goals, illegal
immigration, work ethic, smart kids, family, poverty, depressed Midwestern towns, principle, character, pessimism, optimism,
anti-intellectualism, religious faith, chanting and praying.
MESSAGE - The greatest achievement is to try hard to succeed, especially under economic and social circumstances that are
disadvantageous; that's even more important than winning. Smart kids are often lonely.
(Note: One of the speller's mothers smokes cigarettes.)
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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