if, when you're looking for a little home entertainment, you run across a video (probably DVD for most folks) called "Spellbound," take it home with you and sit down for one of the more entertaining evenings you'll have legally.  i picked it up yesterday and we watched it last night.

it's a documentary about the 1999 National Spelling Bee finals in Washington, DC.  more specifically, it follows eight kids to that final Bee.  eight kids from different backgrounds, parts of the country, levels of parental involvement, etc.  this is America singing, dear hearts, this is what it's all about.  the number involved who are children of immigrants is amazing; we come to know Angela, daughter of a Mexican family who first entered the country illegally; Neil, son of an Indian immigrant who has Made Good in Orange County, CA; Nupur, whose family is probably Bengali, from India or Pakistan, and there are many others in the contest.  but there's also one of our favorites, Emily, from a well-to-do Connecticut family who worries if their au pair  girl will be coming with them to DC;  Harry, a hyperactive Jewish kid from New Jersey, the others the story follows and those we only see fleetingly.  all the kids go straight to your heart, and the final moments of the Final Bee are as anxiety-provoking as any cliffhanger suspense film.  better than Bruce Willis, any day.