Official Synopsis:
Richard Gere stars in this gripping tale about a father obsessed with training his talented daughter for the National Spelling Bee. Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross) demonstrates such an amazing gift for spelling any word given to her that her father Saul (Gere) insists on coaching her himself. But as Eliza's success continues, Saul's newfound devotion grows causing huge changes for the entire family!
Our Take:
I guess I should just go on ahead and get this out of the way: I’m not really a fan of Richard Gere. To me, he’s an actor who shows up, reads his lines, goes home, and does the same thing the next day. In very few of his films does he have the opportunity to break out of his typical role as Prince Charming. While he does manage to break that typecast in Bee Season, he also manages to be completely annoying.
Bee Season is not a feel good, make-you-happy kind of film. While that's somewhat refreshing, it just isn’t interesting enough to keep your attention. Some interesting story lines are introduced, but all are overshadowed by Richard Gere’s fanaticism over his daughter’s ability and his trying to make some divine contact with God. His son, who was once his shining star, is now exploring other religions to find an alternative to his father’s Jewish heritage, while his troubled wife is virtually ignored, and underappreciated. Finally, there's his daughter (wonderfully played by newcomer Flora Cross), who is the beneficiary of his attention and really does have a special ability, but Gere’s character is blinded by his obsession.
While Bee Season as a film leaves me wanting a little more, the DVD comes including some extras which surely won’t disappoint any fans of this film.
* Audio commentaries - One features directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel, the other, producer Albert Berger and screenwriter Foner Gyllenhaal. Two commentaries for this film seem a bit much, but I won’t complain since with many films you’re lucky if you get one. They’re both fairly informative; the first is more interesting in the second, but anyone interested in the actual development of the script will enjoy the latter as well.
* Bonus Footage (6 minutes) - Six deleted scenes with optional commentary. Nothing here seems to be that essential to the film.
* The Making of Bee Season (5 minutes) - More of a promotional feature stuck on as a bonus feature. Still, it's enjoyable to hear the thoughts of the actors themselves, as it features interviews with Richard Gere and others.
* The Essence of Bee Season (6 minutes) - Interviews with scholars and spiritual leaders and their thoughts about the themes featured in the film.
* Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes).
Bee Season comes off as one of those films that is supposed to be all artsy, inspiring, and full of depth and meaning, but in the end it just turns out to be a pretentious piece of filmmaking. It definitely could have explored more of the characters themselves instead of relying solely on the themes featured within.
Overall Picture:
Movie: C
DVD: B+
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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