Wordplay

This documentary just makes the average Joe wonder whatever happened to their smart chip. The only puzzles I can solve are those Hollywood pop culture thingys. The junk I fed my brain. But after watching this, I want my smart chip back. I'm horrible with Jeopardy, Scrabble, and definitely cross word puzzles. This was an interesting doumentary in the sense that I didn't know that there were so many people sooo involved in this past time. This just goes to prove that anything can be addictive. Anything.

This movie about serious crossword creators and solvers informs, entertains, and builds to an appropriate climax, the annual Crossword Championships in a cookie cutter hotel in Stamford, CT. Everyone involved -- including President Bill Clinton, his erstwhile opponent Bob Dole, and Jon Stewart -- fits nicely into the mosaic of the story. (The puzzle on the day of the Clinton-Dole election is, in its own small-corner-of-the-universe way, a masterpiece of the art form.) Sure, the players have this little obsession about racing the clock to solve really hard crosswords, but they are also genuinely likeable people and this viewer, at least, came away impressed with their abilities, their sense of humor about their off-beat passion, and, not least, their articulate intelligence. As one who whips through the early week puzzles and then struggles starting with Friday,I salute them. Wordplay honors them too and does so very, very well. It's a must-see for anyone who's ever puzzled.

Like Spellbound or Trekkies, this documentary tries to elevate a rather nerdy hobby to the level of high art by exploring the people involved and the obsessive nature of their hobby. As with those two documentaries, you are probably more inclined to enjoy the movie if you share the obsession. Unlike those two documentaries, you may not find this terribly compelling otherwise.

While it has many interesting things about it (the history of the "rules" of Crossword puzzles, the competitions, the crossword puzzle that managed to make BobDole and Clinton equally viable in 1996 for instance) ultimately it's a documentary about people who sit down and write words on square boxes. Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton and the Indigo Girls (Blue state bias?) are normally entertaining personalities, but even they can't make the act of writing words on a piece of paper interesting. You have to give the director credit for trying though. Jon Stewart's mini-freakout is amusing. The shot of the clue and the letters hitting the blank page in computer animation are fun. However, ultimately it feels a lot like those movies where they are "hacking into the system" and trying to make the act of sitting at a computer typing exciting. It's not. Sorry. It's just not.

However, the competition that takes up the last third of the movie is well worth the price. The people involved aren't just obsessed but they are warm and friendly. Sure, trash talking Crossword puzzle fanatics would be funnier, but the fact of the matter is, is that these people like each other; they share an obsession and they genuinely wish each other well - even when losing to each other in these competitions. That amount of camraderie involved in the competition is a rare thing, no matter how many "sportsmanship" lectures get imbibed. To see it as a natural byproduct of the competition is rather sweet.

Still, this is a movie that only Crossword fanatics can love. Those of us who find our joy elsewhere can buy bargain DVDs and watch it in small doses. All of it is good, but none of it is terribly compelling.

Since I was very young, I have had a love affair with language. Words are such a powerful form of expression [in writing and verbal communication]. Words are a reflection of our times, as well as our culture. Few people know this as well as puzzlemaster for the New York Times, Will Shortz. He is the man behind the weekly crossword puzzle that appears in the publication and also is heard nationally on NPR, every weekend, with his puzzle quiz. Not only are crossword puzzles great for the mind, but they have a huge following that transcends generations and socio/economic backgrounds. For the first time, we see a more intimate side of Mr. Shortz, his formative years, as well as an annual puzzle competition that I would best describe as the Crossword Olympics. It truly is a competitive sport. There are also great, humorous moments in this film with banter from comedian Jon Stewart, former United States President Bill Clinton, the Indigo Girls and a slew of other fans of Will Shortz and his puzzle.

This film was so well done, and, it will [no doubt] draw comparisons to SPELLBOUND, which follows the National Spelling Bee and the young contestants who intensively study the English language by reading the dictionary, practicing with flash cards and devoting their lives to mastering spelling. WORDPLAY is different in that the first half of the film, I would say, is more focused on Will Shortz, his following of crossword puzzle fans and how the puzzles are created. We even learn about the formula that they must use, as a template to derive the correct number of letters across, as well as down. The puzzles are also reflective of current events, developments in pop culture, policy and politics. They really are a sign of the times. The second half of the film shifts its focus to the contestants pursuing the Crossword Puzzle Championship. It'll have you biting your nails, too. The director really captured the tension and suspense that intensifies as each contestant aspires to be the champion. This is definitely a great film worth watching. You'll walk away feeling that you learned something and also had a good time in the process!

First we had a movie about Scrabble competitions, now here comes a movie about the ultimate crossword competition - organized by Will Short, master crossword puzzle creator.

This film doesn't quite let us get to know its competitors in the same way the Scrabble documentary let us get to know its enthusiasts. But this film shows a lot more besides the mere competition. It shows who designs many of "The New York Times" crossword puzzles and how the designers attack the problem. You'll learn a lot about crossword puzzle-design you probably didn't know. For example - computer programs generally aren't used. Short and others still do all the work out of their own brains. And did you know every puzzle must be symmetrical?

Then we see several celebrities at work solving a daily puzzle. Bill Clinton might have been more popular as President if he had run the Country as judiciously as he solves a crossword puzzle. He philosophizes as he goes along, saying that a puzzle should be approached in the same way you approach a problem of State - you scan for what you know first - then you slowly work your way out from there.

Jon Stewart attacks a problem as if he were in a hockey game - slapping, cursing, jabbing at the page. At first I thought he was putting on a show of aggression for the camera - but no, that's really his all-out way of doing the daily crossword.

The documentary briefly discusses the origins of the crossword puzzle in the U.S. I would have liked to hear a lot more about the history of the puzzle and how the character of clues might have changed over the decades. And I was disappointed to find no discussion at all of the British tradition of crossword puzzles. How and why did the Brits develop their puzzles along such a different path? In the U.S., despite some punning around the theme of each puzzle, most of the clues call for straightforward synonyms. But in England, almost all the clues involve elaborate combinations of anagrams, puns, rebuses, homonyms, the works. What does this say, if anything, about the difference between British and American culture? And what about crosswords in other cultures, other languages? I wanted more! Maybe as DVD bonus material!

Still, this film provides an interesting look into crosswording a la "The New York Times." You can't be down or cross when you have a fresh puzzle facing you in the morning - or after you've finished watching this film.