A documentary about a crossword puzzle competition. Hm. You'd think it has all the potential of a hilarious Christopher Guest mockumentary ("Best in Show") but for real. And with the DVD cover boasting "NAIL BITING SUSPENSE!", "PALM-SWEATING SUSPENSE!" and "THRILLING!" I figured this documentary would have some nifty surprises.
The only surprise was the fact that I made it all the way through it without switching to Gilligan's Island. Don't get me wrong; this is not a bad documentary. But it certainly didn't live up to the sensational promises advertised on the box.
I've enjoyed many great documentaries about subjects that otherwise wouldn't interest me. That's the mark of a great documentary: something that can (a) make me care about something I previously didn't care about, or (b) entertain me by showing the bizarre characters who care about things that I don't care about.
Examples of great documentaries would be (a) "Ambassadors of Hollywood", which made me care about the misfits who dress up in costumes on Hollywood Boulevard, (b) "King of Kong" which entertained me by showing the bizarre obsession of people who play the video game Donkey Kong, and (c) "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" which made me care about, as well as be tremendously entertained by, the aging goofballs in the metal band "Anvil" even though I don't listen to heavy metal.
I was expecting another success with "Wordplay", a documentary about perhaps the most UNexciting pastime ever invented by the human race. But no, contrary to the DVD's promise, there was no "nail-biting", "palm-sweating" or "thrills" here. Instead what I found was a very low key, uneventful documentary that might be good to kill some time while you're sitting in a hotel room or a laundromat, but I can't recommend it as a worthy use of your time.
For the first 45 minutes it shows us clips of various famous and not-so-famous people talking about crossword puzzles. They don't really say anything that you & I wouldn't say; I guess we're just supposed to be dazzled by the fact that these people are famous. Comedian Jon Stewart is an exception, being very animated and dramatic. But after a while you get the feeling that all his clips were scripted, like a carefully rehearsed joke routine. These scenes are contrasted against the candid shots of the individual players in the crossword competition. Nothing special, they're just everyday human beings, not weird, not ridiculous, controversial or interesting in the least. There was one gratuitous shot of a gay man playing pinball with his partner and then kissing him. I felt like the filmmakers added that shot for a cheap attention grabber in an otherwise mundane & uneventful show.
After the 45 minute mark, the competition begins. How can I describe it... Like my title says, it's about as interesting as watching people solve crossword puzzles. I'm not joking when I say a bingo competition would be much more suspenseful. The crossword competition has the same sort of atmosphere as a bingo competition but without the excitement.
While this is not a bad documentary, it's definitely not an exceptional one. If you have 90 minutes to spare, I highly recommend the 3 docs I mentioned above ("Ambassadors of Hollywood", "King of Kong" and "Anvil! The Story of Anvil") as well as the excellent A&E TV series "Rollergirls" about the private lives of Texas derby queens who, at the end of each show, put on the skates and pummel each other in the arena--if you really want to see "nail-biting suspense".
The only surprise was the fact that I made it all the way through it without switching to Gilligan's Island. Don't get me wrong; this is not a bad documentary. But it certainly didn't live up to the sensational promises advertised on the box.
I've enjoyed many great documentaries about subjects that otherwise wouldn't interest me. That's the mark of a great documentary: something that can (a) make me care about something I previously didn't care about, or (b) entertain me by showing the bizarre characters who care about things that I don't care about.
Examples of great documentaries would be (a) "Ambassadors of Hollywood", which made me care about the misfits who dress up in costumes on Hollywood Boulevard, (b) "King of Kong" which entertained me by showing the bizarre obsession of people who play the video game Donkey Kong, and (c) "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" which made me care about, as well as be tremendously entertained by, the aging goofballs in the metal band "Anvil" even though I don't listen to heavy metal.
I was expecting another success with "Wordplay", a documentary about perhaps the most UNexciting pastime ever invented by the human race. But no, contrary to the DVD's promise, there was no "nail-biting", "palm-sweating" or "thrills" here. Instead what I found was a very low key, uneventful documentary that might be good to kill some time while you're sitting in a hotel room or a laundromat, but I can't recommend it as a worthy use of your time.
For the first 45 minutes it shows us clips of various famous and not-so-famous people talking about crossword puzzles. They don't really say anything that you & I wouldn't say; I guess we're just supposed to be dazzled by the fact that these people are famous. Comedian Jon Stewart is an exception, being very animated and dramatic. But after a while you get the feeling that all his clips were scripted, like a carefully rehearsed joke routine. These scenes are contrasted against the candid shots of the individual players in the crossword competition. Nothing special, they're just everyday human beings, not weird, not ridiculous, controversial or interesting in the least. There was one gratuitous shot of a gay man playing pinball with his partner and then kissing him. I felt like the filmmakers added that shot for a cheap attention grabber in an otherwise mundane & uneventful show.
After the 45 minute mark, the competition begins. How can I describe it... Like my title says, it's about as interesting as watching people solve crossword puzzles. I'm not joking when I say a bingo competition would be much more suspenseful. The crossword competition has the same sort of atmosphere as a bingo competition but without the excitement.
While this is not a bad documentary, it's definitely not an exceptional one. If you have 90 minutes to spare, I highly recommend the 3 docs I mentioned above ("Ambassadors of Hollywood", "King of Kong" and "Anvil! The Story of Anvil") as well as the excellent A&E TV series "Rollergirls" about the private lives of Texas derby queens who, at the end of each show, put on the skates and pummel each other in the arena--if you really want to see "nail-biting suspense".