A few years ago this would have been a groundbreaking idea, but in a world now saturated with reality television, Spellbound is really just a creative idea for a new hit series. Granted, it’s much better than any reality show we’ve seen before.

Spellbound follows eight middle-school aged kids as they win their regional spelling-bee’s and compete in the national spelling bee in Washington, D.C.

Though it’s fun to see these kids competing for the first prize at the end of the film, the majority of the film is spent of background and build – and well it should. The lives behind these competitors are by far the most interesting aspect of the film.

Each coming from different areas of the country, different family types, different ethnic groups and consisting of varied personalities, the only thing each of these kids have in common is a drive to win. They each spend hours a day learning words, many of them pressed by their parents. In some cases, it feels like the success of the kids is being lived vicariously by the parents.

The thing that really separates Spellbound from traditional reality TV is, ironically, the reality of it. While reality TV characters are all too quickly becoming bland and predictable, there’s genuine humanity in these kids and their parents. Even when they’re unbelievably strange and eccentric, they’re still hauntingly real. Spellbound captures the nicks and crannies of Americana that we may not be familiar with, but always sensed was there.

Multiple critics have lauded Spellbound for its unexpected tension and excitement. Well, I’m willing to bet these are professional folk who have always been so busy, they never stopped to actually watch ESPN’s broadcast of the national spelling bee on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The truth is, the real life spelling bee is much more exciting.

Spellbound’s appeal is that we know the characters by the time they compete in Washington and actually have someone to root for. It’s a good time. The characters presented are frequently funny, constantly interesting and always endearing in their little world where life itself depends on whether they can spell as six-syllable word.

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