Wordplay (2006)

Very Interesting

In 1978, Will Shortz, editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, started the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament traditionally held every year (until this year) in Stamford, Connecticut. "Wordplay" is not only about Shortz and fellow puzzle makers like Mel Reagle, but about contestants in the tournament as well as famous crossword puzzle fans such as Bill Clinton, the Indigo Girls, Jon Stewart, Mike Mussina and Ken Burns.

"Wordplay" is an interesting documentary about the world of crossword puzzles, the people that create them, and the people that solve them. The documentary alternates throughout from the people that create the puzzles and people, both famous and unknown, that solve them and both groups are interesting. It is fascinating to watch how Reagle creates crossword puzzles and it is also fascinating to watch people like Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart solve the puzzle Reagle created for the film - anyone who solves crossword puzzles will nod knowingly as Clinton and Stewart vocalize their thought process as they try to figure out the clues. There are a lot of little bits of trivia sprinkled throughout the movie including the clever way the New York Times crossword puzzle "predicted" the winner of the Bob Dole - Bill Clinton presidential race.

What I liked best about this documentary is that it treats its subject seriously. All of the people in the film come across as normal people who just happen to be good at creating or solving crossword puzzles. Will Shortz is a genius when it comes to creating puzzles, but he comes across as a regular person who just happens to have a job he loves. The entire film builds up the crossword puzzle tournament and several of the contestants, including past winners, are featured in the film. There are no bad guys here (unlike in The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters) and I found myself wanting all of them to win. The contest itself is exciting and you can feel the agony and ecstasy of each contestant.

"Wordplay" is a fascinating documentary.

November 24, 2008

Wonderful Film!

I first saw this film on the big screen with my friend Jared Feldman in Washington, DC. We loved the movie and would often quote the film.

I recently re-watched the film, and found it as wonderful the second time. For a word dork like myself, it was a pleasure to watch.

-Jeremy Paul Gallagher June 18, 2008

Entertaining film on an unfilmable subject . . .

This is probably a film for crossword fans, though anyone who has ever wondered about people who seem hooked on crosswords will find this documentary a bit of a revelation, too. There are surprising moments in the film - first about things you take for granted. Where did crosswords come from and what are the underlying "rules" of creating crosswords? How does someone create a crossword? Who is responsible for the daily NY Times crosswords, and how did that get to be a real job? Then there are curious discoveries, like the obsession with time, and detours into subjects like whether a computer could ever be taught to do crosswords.

Structurally, the film is a lot like a crossword in the way its various story lines intersect. To show, I guess, that crosswords are not just for nerds, there are celebrity appearances from the Indigo Girls to Ken Burns to Bill Clinton. And finally there's coverage of the annual national crossword tournament in Stamford, CT, where you marvel at the hyped up drama and the complexities of the competition and the scoring itself - the playoff between the 3 highest scorers, wearing noise-producing headphones, is performed on stage before an audience. How did that evolve? Anyway, for novelty it's hard to beat this entertaining documentary about a basically unfilmable subject, and it may even get you trying the next crossword you see, just to see what all the excitement is about. June 1, 2008

Wordplay

Anyone who is a crossword "nut" will appreciate this humorous and interesting documentary. I had no idea that there were actually over 100 crossword constructors that worked on each New York Times Crossword. I guess I felt that most of it was done by computers. Loved it. May 23, 2008

Wordplay

For anyone who likes working crosswords or who wonders how crosswords are created, this movie is a must. The people featured in the film are fascinating--all are word freaks who are students of the written word and who use their knowledge to work and/or create crosswords. February 26, 2008

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