Do not write off Akeelah and the Bee as one of those Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds, Lean On Me, Blackboard Jungle or Music of the Heart movies. They are fine movies, but they do operate on some assumptions: that the students have to rise above their community to succeed. Akeelah and the Bee is not about escaping, but bringing every alienated part of your family, then your community, including the drug dealer, the beggar and the bully together and then bringing different communities together. The central problem may initially appear to be lack of resources such as money and time, but it is really lack of communication and understanding. On the surface, characters appear like stereotypes, but as Akeelah and the Bee delves deeper into the characters, their good intentions and multifaceted lives shine through. Akeelah and the Bee does drag briefly near the end of the first act, but by the end, I found myself crying–I’m human, people! With supporting characters like Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, Akeelah and the Bee could be trusted with its lesser known main actor, Keke Palmer, who unfortunately has not hit the level of renown that she deserves YET. I have no idea if she is still delivering strong performances, but as Akeelah, she carries the entire movie. Akeelah and the Bee is a family friendly movie, and it certainly touts certain conventions, but it is revolutionary in finding value in Nazareth, and that this value can give hope to the world.