I remember when Spellbound was in theatres last year, but I missed it, thinking that a docum'entary about a Spelling Bee could not be all that interesting. Man was I wrong. This weekend I ran across the DVD at Blockbuster--they only had one copy. What a delightful film!

        Spellbound follows eight middle schoolers from various parts of the US as they prepare to compete in the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC in 1999. From various backgrounds and families, these children are preparing to spell words most of us will not have even heard in a competition where the pressure is high and one slipped letter means curtains.

        The documentary begins as it might. We meet each of the eight contestants, see a little of their homelife, meet the parents, maybe a teacher or two. Some of the kids are repeat contenders, but most are facing this experience for the first time, after winning their local regional competition.

        The kids provide an odd reflection of modern American society, as odd a collection as Christopher Guest might assemble for one of his mockumentaries, yet they are all real kids. Or sort of real. Director Jeffrey Blitz shows us 8 kids--plus three more in the extra section on the DVD, whose diverse backgrounds are emphasized to manipulate how we feel about them. There's the New Haven uppercrust, polo-player who wonders why her parents are not taking the au pair to the competition this year. There's the inner-city African American girl from D.C. whose mother speaks Ebonics, or my favorite, the first generation Mexican-American girl from Texas whose Father speaks no English. There's hyperactive kid from Jersey who can barely stand still to think let alone spell, and two Indian-American kids who can best be described as driven. Then, there's a hillbilly from Missouri and the self-described daughter of Ozzie and Harriot from Pennsylvania.

        Of course we only see what Jeffrey Blitz allows us, and although he tries to present an even-handed presentation, there are some choices made that ensure we like some kids over others. I guess that's just human nature.

        What comes as a complete surprise in this film, is that you don't know when each kid will be knocked out of the competition, so, weirdly enough, you actually find yourself on the edge of your seat hoping that your favorite kid will walk away the victor.

        Spellbound is well named, it will hold you captive for every single one of the 97 minutes and likely more, I avidly perused the rest of the DVD contents to see what other treasures might lie in store. Spellbound is brilliant.

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