grumble.....
After seeing Spellbound, I just don't know what to say or think. I'm sure this was supposed to come off as light-hearted fun and a nice little portrayal of the 'little smart kids' but I saw this as just another slap-in-the-face of their already difficult lives.I don't think the director has much regard for his subjects at all. I'm sure I'm misreading many of his quirks and attempts at humor, but mostly they come off as very negative social commentary, not unlike humor one would find in The Simpsons or This Is Spinal Tap. For example, interviewing the manager of the local Hooters about town pride in the spelling bee and showing 'Congradulations' on the marquee. Is this a joke??? How about Angela's father working for this old racist couple? I actually choked on my lunch listening to him refer to Mexicans as "they're not all bums and tramps, there's some good ones mixed up in'em." Was that a compliment? A joke??? Or perhaps we are supposed to just pay no mind, as the director goes out of his way to cut in shots of the confused elderly wife knitting.
And there's poor Ted. Oh poor, unfortunate, white-trash Ted who appears to be the rebirth of Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade. I say this because we are led to believe through the director's imagery that he is. I mean, right off the bat, there is a drive-by shot of a run down, back-road house with garbage all over the yard. I'm guessing this is to represent where he comes from and his lifestyle. Come on, director, who's side are you on??? Moving onto April, the shy, studious, awkward little girl. This is the one I really felt bad for. It's evident she was very shy in front of the camera, but it didn't seem like the director cared. He just played off it. Maybe just capturing the reality of being a shy, awkward teen with no friends with close-ups of fidgeting hands, her bumbling on a swing nervously, etc. What was really upsetting was the description she gave of her parents being like Archie and Edith Bunker "because Archie's always getting mad at Edith for being dumb." It doesn't seem like she meant it to sound that way, but all the while we see merciless shots of her mother being just that- annoying laugh, whiny voice and blatant flightiness as she goes thru a dictionary with a big question mark over her head. Well, the director might as well have superimposed one! And of course the interview shot in the living room with grumpy dad and the dog licking her feet, as they discuss their disappointment of April forgoing a social life for studying.
Harry Altman is the point where I really started to hate this. It's obvious he was the ham in this particular sandwich, but to the point where it was just painful. Kids will be kids, but this kid is plain uncomfortable to watch. The director doesn't seem to like Harry very much either as he just lets him carry on in awkward silliness. There are ways for his personality to come out without making us want to ring his neck.
The second half was cleverly done, but for me it is useless as I was just so offended by the introduction to these characters. As this movie was/is rated so highly, it appears I am the one mistaken, but I just think this served no good to its subject or its target audience. If anything, it would seem to me to make them more self-conscious and uncomfortable.
score 3/10
releasethebats76 25 August 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1158035/35631
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