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Spellbound
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 17 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Directed by: Jeffrey Blitz
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 30, 2003
DVD: January 20, 2004
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: G for General Audiences
Starring Harry Altman, Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April DeGideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg, Ashley White, and Alex Cameron
This documentary presents the intense, true-life experience of the National Spelling Bee as seen through the eyes of eight driven, young spellers. (ThinkFilm)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Premiere Brooke Hauser
While it may be excruciating to watch a speller miss a word by a letter, it's just as exciting to watch another kid jump the hurdle.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
Resembles a Christopher Guest movie in that it follows obsessed, socially awkward folks on a seminal journey in their lives.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
At its most unsettling level, Spellbound asks us to consider what words are for and what childhood should be. It's as profound as anything you'll see this year, and, yes, it should have won the Oscar.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
The end result is the best documentary you'll see this year, as thrilling a competition as any Super Bowl and as suspenseful a story as any Hitchcock film.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Thrilling little epic set in the bewildering arena of the English language.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Not only is it an enormously entertaining study of a curiously American institution, it also manages to be a nail-biting competition film, an engrossing group character study and a wonderfully graceful comedy of manners.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
At a time when so many in this country are at odds about what represents America at its best, it's refreshing and then some to see a film that everyone can agree is an example of exactly that.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Enough drama, humor and unfiltered nail-biting suspense to put all the thrill-mongering screenwriters in Hollywood to shame.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Just might be the most action-packed suspense thriller of the summer.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
The movie becomes a nail-biter, the audience hanging on every letter. Who could have anticipated that a spelling competition would yield such a heartbreaking thriller?
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Sarah Hepola
As good, old-fashioned dorkfests go, it doesn't get much better than the National Spelling Bee, with its arcane words, bespectacled competitors, and stinging little bell.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
Boasts all of the drama and suspense of any reality TV show, but it actually stars smart people. And they're kids.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
The terrific Spellbound really isn't about the ability to tear words apart letter by letter. It's about nerve-wracking competitiveness.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
I love this movie, and I love the pride, spirit and sportsmanship of the kids who represent the best of American pluck and luck.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
By the time they're onstage, your pulse is pounding right along with theirs. Spell this movie: g-r-e-a-t.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Consider it an athletic contest of the mind--ESPN does, as the sports network regularly televises the finals.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Ted Shen
Blitz shows us these kids in all their quirkiness and dorkiness, letting them do much of the talking as he records them and their families at home.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Could hardly be more suspenseful if it were scripted.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
For the committed word nerd, spelling has its intrinsic pleasures, but in Spellbound it's another example of the peculiarly American mania for turning everything -- even play --into work.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Blitz captures the intensity of the bee itself, showing how it frazzles the nerves of even the most well-prepared spellers as, one by one, their colleagues and competitors drop away.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
More to the point of this marvelous film, who knew there were kids as heroic, in their various ways, as these valiant super-spellers?
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Loses its momentum just when you'd expect the suspense to mount -- at the competition itself.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
As we watch them drilling with flashcards and worksheets, we hope they will win, but we're not sure what good it will do them.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
One of the many pleasures in Spellbound is watching the reactions of these young brainiacs, all under the age of 14, as they first hear the word they are being asked to spell (''Is that even a word?'' seems to be a common thought passing through their heads.)
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Can't help but be deeply engrossing, as it taps into a highly charged atmosphere that one parent dubs "a different form of child abuse."
Read Full Review >Film Threat Merle Bertrand
Draws an unspoken parallel with, of all things, beauty pageants, complete with unnaturally driven kids and nervously supportive parents desperately trying not to appear too pushy.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
An enthralling, suspenseful documentary about spelling bees.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ed Park
In their randomness, the bee words take on an oracular quality--shades of kabbalistic gematria, or the "Sortes Vergilanae," the supernatural attributed to symbols on paper.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
This could be a documentary about reading the body language of childhood.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Despite rave reviews, film festival awards, and an Oscar nomination, Spellbound comes across as little more than a marginally compelling documentary -– the kind of movie that would be at home on PBS.
Read Full Review >Variety Ronnie Scheib
Docu dispassionately examines this strange phenomenon of anachronistic Americana, created as a newspaper promotion in 1925.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Many of the kids seem to be social outcasts of one kind or another, but Spellbound, which will show on cable later this year, doesn't dig deep enough to disturb the movie's relentless feel-good tone.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Christopher J. gave it a7:
A documentary that exposes the lifestyles of the nerdy and almost-famous spelling bee contest. The kids are fascinating and the parents are what you'd expect them to be: strange.
Kevin E. gave it a7:
I expected a bit more based on the high praise of the reviews when it was released. A closer look at what shared geek-ology unites these children (and their parents) would have added interest. In the end, it was a mildly engaging, straight-forward documentary, nothing really new.
Marc K. gave it an 8:
Very good, but not great. I was particularly taken by the tall girl from New Mexico who's parents only spoke Spanish. Since I saw it on DVD, I wish we had had an explanation of the decision-making process as to why the three contestants who were left out of the movie were left out, as opposed to the ones who stayed in. I thought 2 of the 3 who were omitted actually would have been more compelling than the boy who lived on the farm and shot archery with his brother. And, while it is not politically correct to say, some of the kids shown in that spelling bee were incredible geeks!
Patrick gave it an 8:
Infectiously full of life and drama. The Documentarians at the heart of this film capture a seemingly boring topic in such a way that it feels more like another Christopher Guest romp than a true story. But that's just the fun, as we are shown the personalities of 8 Spelling Bee hopefuls and led into their borderline pathological worlds.
Dave the Wave gave it a 9:
A terrific little movie. I'm amazed that a film about the National Spelling Bee could grip me for 97 minutes. It's definitely worth seeing.
Michelle P. II gave it a 4:
In response to John H.- yes, I did get it. I understood the story, purpose, etc. No, I am not a Star Wars fan. By the way, liking movies is a matter of opinion. I said I wanted to like this film, and scaring me into liking it is just plain idiotic. I am not a fan of documentaries which may be the reason I didn't enjoy this film. Well-done, but it didn't capture my attention well enough. I'm glad you liked this movie better than I did, but that's no reason to go bashing other reviewers.
John H. gave it a 9:
Obviously, Michelle P. didn't get it...she should go rent Star Wars: Attack of the Drones for the 3rd time.
