Favorite character? Least Fav? - Spellbound (2003) Discussion

[–] freshy 18 years ago

Just watched the movie and...

Favorite speller: Emily. I just liked her right away. She seemed like a bright, witty, down to earth kid. Not one of those admirable, but nonetheless scary-anal-retentive overachievers, like say Neil. I mean, I liked the kid but it seemes like his parents, specially his father, were infinitely pushy. That can't be healthy, can it? Whereas Emily's parents seemed to be really cool people. She was self-deprecating in a funny kinda way. She even took it well, when she lost. I figured she was the only one I could relate to and would like to have as a friend.

Leas fav... Harry. Oh, man. Where do I start? He made me want to climb up the walls, and literally made me close my eyes and cover my ears with my hands. Most annoying kid I've ever seen. (Sorry Harry, nothing personal)

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[–] stormmcaloon 18 years ago

A few things...

I competed in the National Spelling Bee from 1987-1989, and the movie skillfully captured all the tension during the bee as well as how family life changes to accommodate the study habits of the competitors. Kinda made me nostalgic.

Anyhow, it's hard to say favorites vs. least favorites. I guess I could say that Harry was the most annoying one. Angela's story was amazing. So was Ashley's. Her stint at the microphone spelling "lycanthrope" was so similar to another speller's excruciating, tearful, unsuccessful attempt at spelling "indemnitee" at the 1987 finals, it brought chills down my spine.

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[–] tedwardmyspace 18 years ago

Harry is probably the coolest kid ever. I wish he was my friend. Don't change, Harry, you're frickin cool.

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[–] Fini-Buliciri 18 years ago

I liked all the characters for the exception of Harry. He got on my nerves a bit. He talks too much. I would have liked to see Angela win she really was so passionate about taking part in the whole event and you could feel her annoyance at finally being eliminated for not getting a word right which she should have. The event probably made them discover all sorts of interesting things about themselves.All the kids were fascinating with different stories to tell and this film really captured the atmosphere of such an American cultural institution.

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[–] willthematrixhacker 18 years ago

I wanted AShley to win as she was so sweet. I also found harry hilarious! I did not like georgie though. i liked all the of them really, although i was not fond of ted. I swear i know a girl JUST like emily

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[–] bAzTNM 18 years ago

Don't know the name of the guy, but the Indian kid with the moustached dad was my least favourite. I hate dads like that.

My Dynamic DVD/VHS Movie List - http://www.barryskelly.co.uk
From Scotland

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[–] sticker_smell 18 years ago

You Harry haters are insane. Yes he's annoying, but He's the only one that gave this movie any type of comical relief. Everytime he stepped on stage, you couldn't help but break out laughing.

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[–] AViewOfYou 18 years ago

My favorite people in the movie:

April, the self-described pessimist, who seems to have dropped from outer space into her family because there's no way those are her real parents! If any kid provided all her own motivation and preparation it had to be April.

And, no question, some of the funniest moments were with the three kids from the town that Nupur defeated in her local Bee. I can't recall what they said but the way the three of them looked and talked about trying to beat Nupur was hilarious.

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[–] merls_27 18 years ago

by - dreid-5

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My favorite had to either be Nupur or Emily. For some reason I kind of wanted to see Neil win. I guess what his dad was saying about striving so hard for something, and then to accomplish it made sense, so I don't hold all of the preperation against him. Regardless of who my favorites were, I wanted to see Angela win the most. I thought the story of her family was heartwarming. Least Favorite: Harry, the Autistic, Idiot Savant, Lacking in all social skills....Musical robot

HAHAHAHA I cracked up when I saw that I totally agree. I really liked emily because she seemed like a normal kid. I mean she tells us it's not like she loves spelling because she wants to be good at something and I can totally understand that. I liked neil his dad was I agree a bit overbearing but really if you don't work hard you won't get anywhere.I liked nupur too. OM GOSH Harry was so annoying I swear if he was in my grade I would have punch his lights out. He was TOTALLY IMMATURE he wasn't funny just stupid and loud. Totally Brainless when he talked (expect for spelling) and he HAS THE MOST ANNOYING LAUGH sound like a sick donkey/hyenna. Gosh how can people think he was funny I swear he acted like he had ADD

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[–] sakcee 18 years ago

All the kids were great, i have seen the movie so many times, and can identify with so many of them.

i really liked april and ted, least favorite was that new haven ,ct girl

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[–] venciso 18 years ago

My favorite was definitely, by far, Emily, I dunno, I guess she just seemed the most normal of the lot, she wasn't really obsessed with winning or losing. Probably the experience of competing in previous years helped her. My second favorite was April, man, she was so pessimistic that she won me over almost instantly. Then I'd have to go with Ted and Angela, Ted looked like he wasn't even trying and he didn't really care I guess if he would have tried he'd have gotten a much better result. Angela's story was by far the most inspiring, and when you see her dad's face you can't help but root for her.
Then Ashley, she was cute and all nervous when she came to spell, poor girl ;), was a shame to see her go so early.
I had nothing against Neil but he seemed realy obsessed with the whole thing ad his dad too. For some reason I didn't really like Nupur but I knew from the start she or Neil were going to win tthe thing and she did. I mean, all the nurturing, over-bearing family enviroment is just too much.
And finally, Harry, I think the producers just wanted a poster boy here, but I have nthing against him either.

p.s. I cracked up when I read Thampy being referred to as the jesus freak hahahha. To all of those who were happy to see him lose you might not be too happy to know that he won the bee the following year

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[–] VIP29 17 years ago

Harry is a Musical Robot, hahaha!!

Aaahh, my Precioussssssss

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[–] sensesfailgrl 16 years ago

least fav.. meh dont have one. cept neils parents were like all hardass. i was like wow! and how the father and sister talked about how he had friends and enough time to play.. how ? with all his tutors and stuff.

harry. plain out weirdo...made me laugh tho.

i loved that one girls mom and dad. the girl who placed 3rd.. i forgot her name. her parents were pretty amazing... loved her mom. such a dork.

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[–] HellFurby 17 years ago

"Then Harry, who seriously needs a good kick in the teeth, or some strong medication."

Geez. You people should really consider your thinking before you have children. I have seen children behave exactly like Harry. Sometimes it's a result from autism (likely in Harry's case) or just environmental factors. A) It's an awkward age where kids are attempting to socialize and gain recognition B) in a sociey with increasing rates of children born with disabilities, we need to learn to be tolerant. Who wasn't awkward in middle school, anyway? I mean, getting annoyed is one thing. Coming onto a public message board and saying that a real kid needs to be kicked in the teeth is another.

Then again, this is IMDB.

I'm not wise, just uniquely stupid.

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[–] hollyalexis 17 years ago

oh my god, i DESPISE harry !!

"harry, just calm down, take a breath, and spell the word"

what I hated most was how at the end of harry's segment, he complained about how 'the guy mispronounced the word.' what a sore loser. :P

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[–] photondancer 15 years ago

The judge did mispronounce it. I watched this film last night and distinctly heard 'band'. Then he went on to say "It's a plural word" and I knew it couldn't have been 'band' but it sure did sound like it. I happen to know the word 'banns' and felt sorry for Harry's bewilderment but he wasn't a sore loser. I liked Harry because he was so lively but it was the quieter contestants such as Ashley and Ted I was rooting for.

The film didn't discuss the whole issue of pronunciation, which must be problematic for many of the children. There is more than one accent in the USA, and it seems to me it would be more fair if each word was spoken a couple of times in different accents. Not to mention the issue of the child's pronunciation, if the judge mishears a letter due to accent or even a sudden dry throat they're out.

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[–] mhsmocktrial 16 years ago

You know, when I was ten, eleven, twelve, (I don't remember quite how old Harry was) and a film crew followed me for days on end, I'd probably have spent most of the time telling them "cool" facts about Egyptology and Pokemon and sharing the lame inside jokes my friends and I thought were riotous, not offering profound meditations on spelling and competiton. I think a lot of viewers are made to feel awkward by Harry because he's doing the same dopey stuff we did and said as kids. We have the benefit of hiding the family VHS while he's on DVD for eternity. I'm a pretty normal, successful college student now and I cringe to even look at old yearbooks, but it's absurd to evaluate eleven year olds by our standards of behavior today.

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