Wordplay

I'm not a crossword fan -- never understood the fascination that my parents had with them. So I bought this DVD for my mom, thinking she would find it entertaining. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it -- the interviews with the puzzle creators and fanatics were very enlightening. The video gave me a whole new respect for crosswords and in my opinon was worth the time and money.

What an enjoyable movie. It reminded me of the old Bruce Brown movies, "Endless Summer", and, "On Any Sunday". This movie is even more enjoyable when you watch it with the comentary on.

This film is thoroughly engrossing, and funny and
suspenseful. Who would have thought that a documentary
on words could have the power to hold one's interest
from frame to frame. The glimpses into the lives of
famous people linked only by their love of doing crossword
puzzles is a clever device. The build up to the finale
of the Stamford competition will grab you.

I have half-heartedly tried the New York crossword puzzles on occasion but had no idea what a devout following they had until I watched this refreshing 2006 documentary. Structured a bit like 2002's "Spellbound", the entertaining film that builds toward the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee, first-time director Patrick Creadon uses the 2005 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament as his climactic event where a group of nimble-minded crossword solvers vie for the championship. However, Creadon wisely focuses much of the film's initial attention on Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times who has gained renown as NPR's Puzzle Master. At his post since 1993, he has dramatically transformed the puzzle from an often frustrating, intellectualized exercise full of obscure clues to a more broad-based challenge that embraced popular culture and word games.

The change has engendered a diverse number of celebrity fans, several interviewed here in entertaining snippets - a particularly caustic Jon Stewart, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, the Indigo Girls, filmmaker Ken Burns in a somewhat zen-like state, a wry Bob Dole, and Creadon's biggest get, an ingratiating Bill Clinton who conquers his puzzle with surprising zeal. Once the film turns its attention toward the tournament, the personalities of the top contenders are highlighted with the makings of a classic showdown among three-time champion and professional puzzle-maker Trip Payne; Al Sanders, the middle-aged perennial also-ran who can never seem to rank above third; and prodigious twenty-year old Tyler Hinman, the potential usurper who could become the youngest champion ever. One of my favorites is Ellen Ripstein, an unassuming statistician who twirls a baton, but the true unsung hero of the piece has to be frequent Times puzzle creator Merl Reagle.

Delving into the crossword puzzles themselves, the most interesting extra with the 2006 DVD is a featurette called "Five Unforgettable Puzzles" about how the five of the most challenging Times puzzles were constructed as recounted by the creators themselves. Naturally, the puzzles are included in the accompanying booklet as well as the DVD-ROM for printing. The DVD also includes an amiable and insightful commentary track by Creadon, Shortz and Reagle, as well as a bevy of deleted scenes, including extended versions of the celebrity interviews. There is a twenty-minute short about the film's reception at the 2006 Sundance Festival, including a Q&A with the top contenders, as well as a music video. It's a robust package for a niche-oriented film but one that is more entertaining than it has any right to be.

As a NY Times crossword puzzle enthusiast, I found this documentary particularly interesting. It was fun to see how the puzzles are made,the subculture of puzzle solving, the interviews with various celebrity puzzle solvers, and the surprisingly suspenseful crossword puzzle tournament. Plus the music, graphics and humor added a nice touch. Like a good crossword puzzle, everything fit together perfectly. Even people who aren't puzzle enthusiasts would probably enjoy the movie although being a puzzle fan, particularly a fan of the NY Times puzzles, probably added an extra layer of pleasure.