Pretty Good

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Good concept, poorly executed.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's the world of password puzzles. There is the 28th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. There are the various contestants. There is Will Shortz, the long time editor of the New York Times crossword. There are the everyday people who can't stop solving them and there are also the more famous fans like Jon Stewart, Indigo Girls, Bill Clinton, and Ken Burns.There is fun and then there is the obsession. Some of them seem to walk that line while others are perfectly happy with both. The contest is a fascinating subculture. It's also fun to see that so many people enjoying this. This is not a world breaking documentary but it is a small slice of it.

I watched this because I love crosswords (I'm an "INK-er" myself, pencils are for the weak! ;D ), but I worried it wouldn't be that interesting. The fact that Jon Stewart had a cameo sealed it for me - so I rented it.I actually enjoyed it a lot. Personally, I thought there was too much focus on Will Shortz and "NEW YORK TIMES" (as if they're the only ones that do crosswords). I do the NY Times (at least M-TH) occasionally, but I think Mearle Reagle is the best crossword constructor. I like his clues and his humor. I was really glad the movie featured him! Will Shortz just edits other people's puzzles, so I wish they'd featured more of the creators talking about how they make the puzzles.I learned a lot, I hadn't realized how they make the puzzles or that the patterns are mirror images. I think I enjoyed the earlier part of the film more than the second half that focused on the tournament. I enjoyed meeting the puzzlers (even that self-hating obnoxious whiny woman -was she really the only female in the top 20?) If I was still trapped in CT I would consider going to the next tournament.I thought they had a good mix of people. Not just throwing in celebrities for no reason or not including 'regular' people. It's true that most of the people featured were Caucasian and probably middle-upper class - but if that is who is doing the puzzles and going to the tournament, you can hardly fault the film makers. Jon Stewart was of course darling - I was amused to see he too is an INK-er. (He's mentioned that he proposed to his wife using a crossword puzzle.) Seeing Bill Clinton solving a weekend NYT & using it as an analogy for politics was interesting (& yet depressing as it pointed out the disparity in intelligence levels of him & Bushie JR.)In all a movie I would recommend to anyone that likes puzzles. (Not sure if non-gamers would enjoy, but I would still encourage them to try it out.)P.S. Did anyone else feel bad for Will Shortz & Merl Reagle - if they're designing all the puzzles and running the tournament, when do they get to play??

As someone who always likes to solve the New York Times crossword - I like crossword puzzles in general, but the NYT one is the most challenging - "Wordplay" was a real treat for me. I have to admit that I'm no match for the people involved in the tournament, but it's still great to see this all. Will Shortz has got to be one of the cleverest people alive. I was most surprised when Merl Reagle wrote in the answers to the theme and found words to fill in (I had always thought that impossible).Moreover, it's neat to see Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart doing the crossword (I assume that George W. Bush never does crosswords). A really impressive documentary.

You would never imagine that the evolution and story behind the New York Times crossword puzzle and the people who both create them and ferociously try to solve them, would be so darn interesting. This movie proves that a good theme, a sincere effort and some interesting, quirky characters can make even the most remote of subjects, a fascinating, moving documentary. Watching Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton and other famous people work at the crossword somehow humanizes them in a way that I have honestly never seen before. Everyone who attacks the puzzle is now on the same page, and the movie somehow made me feel a lot better about the human race. If there is anything that unites us all, it is the need to solve something - to go through the process of cracking it and to ultimately own it. By watching this movie, you almost have the same amount of respect for the people who are simply the best in the country at this particular thing, as you do for the Stewarts and the Clintons of this world.