stealth documentary

While flipping through the channels on Sunday, I came across the opening credits to this film, which I was familiar with during it's theatrical run but hadn't seen. I had no desire to see this film either. I view spelling bees as silly at best and haven't watched more than 2 minutes of one on television. The film was Spellbound.

This film drew me in, sneaking up on me and, knife at throat, forcing me to be interested. How could I not root for these children as the study constantly looking for pre-teen fame and accolades. I cared about all of them and was invested in the actual national spelling bee, a feat I thought impossible.

The most surprising and my favorite element, was their economic backgrounds and how they played into each child's attitude towards the competition. Not overtly political and plainly exhibiting the facts of these children's lives, the film supports the "American Dream" more than any documentary I've seen.

The message; You can come to this country and work hard and you will succeed.

My only issues, and thus why this film gets 3 stars, is that it's fairly pedestrian in it's formal elements. It's like any TV show about the same subject. The directors do understand the drama and are skilled filmmakers. It's more of a stylistic distaste that I have.