The Spellers: Harry Altman, Ted Brigham, Neil Kadakia, Emily Stagg, Angela Arenivar, April Degideo, Nupur Lala, Ashley White
19 June 2003
by Jasmine Park
Spellbound (2003), an Oscar-nominated documentary by Jeff Blitz, follows the lives of eight children on their way to the 1999 National Spelling Bee. As anyone who has ever happened upon ESPN's annual coverage of the spelling bee knows, it is an enormously engrossing event, as one by one, children step up to the mike and desperately attempt to decipher the obscure origins of their tongue-twisting nemeses. Unfortunately the film does not begin to live up to the complexity and brilliance of its subject, instead choosing the route of easy laughs and simplistic storytelling that is easy to watch and even easier to forget.
The hometowns, families, and racial backgrounds of the eight children are a fair representation of middle America, yet Blitz chooses not to comment on the socioeconomic factors that likely decided their inclusion in the film. This would be all well and good if it were for the purpose of focusing entirely on the spelling bee and the bizarre motivations of these precocious kids, but it becomes quickly apparent that this is hardly Blitz's intention, since he includes enough soundbites from the parents and the kids to leave just enough room for the audience to grasp the stereotypes each is meant to portray. The kids include: Harry, a Tourette's poster boy; Ashley, a black girl from the DC ghetto; Emily, a well-off Jewish girl from Connecticut who loves riding horses; and Neil, the Indian kid with a father who constantly spouts off about how America always rewards hardworking immigrants. Blitz's treatment of each is rudimentary at best; the majority of them do not register as anything more than their stereotyped taglines. The few who manage to resonate with the audience do so in spite of Blitz's cursory treatment: Ashley's cheerful optimism shines on-screen, if only for her few allotted minutes; and April Degideo, with her "Edith and Archie Bunker" parents, displays a touching, self-conscious sincerity.
Blitz dumbs down his portrayal of the children, their families, and the entire event into an easily digestible 90 minutes that seems entertaining enough at the time but leaves a foul taste afterward. Why bother making a dumb movie about smart kids? It's as though he wanted to make a documentary for dumb people, when the audience he manages to get with the film's subject matter is likely smarter than the average. The best films concerning the highly intelligent are those that don't bother trying to appeal to people who are too unintelligent to be interested in the first place - films like Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) and 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould (1993) perfectly capture their subjects' unique, exhilarating genius without pandering to their audiences. What good does it do to quote a teacher who gushes about how much she loves having "those Indian kids" in her class because she knows they'll work hard, or to linger on the wincingly familiar tirade of a single, black, welfare-dependent mother?
Blitz's worst misstep comes when, towards the end of the competition, he tries to create climax by introducing a villain, a homeschooled Indian boy named George Thampy who had done well in the spelling bee the year before (and who would go on to win the National Spelling Bee the year after Spellbound was shot). Dressed in a bizarrely tacky suit, the kid delivers his mantra in a moralistic tone worthy of Al Sharpton: Work hard, obey your parents, and "Trust in Jesus." Blitz clearly mocks poor George and intends for the audience to root for his downfall, as we "fear" his triumph over our team of eight.
Many critics have lauded Spellbound for demonstrating the opportunities available to immigrants in this great land, but throughout the film, I never once sensed that Blitz had such a naïve goal in mind. He includes their stories because he knows they make for predictable, "heartwarming" drama, but never once does he display any real respect for these immigrant experiences. Such patriotic rhetoric has been rendered utterly mundane by countless other films, novels, and television shows, and in a time when America is rife with racial tensions and international hostility, such a message is pointless and even insulting. With Spellbound, Blitz has chosen a worthwhile subject but given it only the shallowest treatment.
Think Films presents a documentary directed by Jeffrey Blitz. Running time: 95 minutes. No MPAA rating (suitable for all).
Harry Altman
in Spellbound.
Send me an e-mail.