The greatest movie ever made..!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Recently I've watched films about those obsessed with Scrabble, Chess, and Cinema. This was probably my favorite. First of all, all the people featured in this documentary seem to be able to function. They make friends, relationships, study, have jobs, etc. This makes them easier to relate to and makes their talents more impressive. Unlike Scrabble, where people just memorized words, and not their meaning, here the contestants need some intelligence. The documentary loses points as it focuses too much on just The New York Times crossword puzzle. Which is fair enough, and leads to us seeing the creation and editing of crosswords. However, it comes across as an advertisement sometimes. Luckily, there is a lot of interest here. You wouldn't believe how much work goes into a simple puzzle, and how clever they can be. I never knew a puzzle could be witty until I saw the election of Bob Dole/Clinton section. It all boils up to a fantastic tournament finish. What I loved about this was that I was routing for all three finalists, and it was an unpredictable, heart-breaking, but also uplifting ending. It contained a lot of emotions without the manipulation you find in sport biopics.

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.

Wordplay: 5 out of 10: In reviews of Robert Redford's delightful movie Quiz Show critics lamented on the disappearance of the middle class intellectual since those storied fifties. Turns out they are alive and well and doing the New York Times crossword, in ink no less.Wordplay is a documentary about such people and the puzzles they love. Like the New York Times resident enigmatologist Will Shortz, Wordplay is genial to a fault.The fact is for many people doing the daily crossword is the only intellectual exercise their brain gets all day and is the total sum usage of a four year liberal arts degree. Lets face it knowledge of Sophocles doesn't come up often at the daily grind. (Or as Sir Humphrey Appleby said in Yes Prime Minister what use is knowing Latin if I can't even use it when talking to the Prime Minister.) So doing the crossword is often the best intellectual stimulation an over-educated person can get in his or her daily life. (Alas some people simply write movie reviews instead.) Does Wordplay touch upon these larger issues? Not on your life.Instead we get an assortment of celebrity moments some insightful (Bill Clinton) some humorous (Jon Stewart) and some downright creepy (documentarian Ken Burns).There is a very perspicacious look inside the creation of the crossword with enigmatologist (I love that word) Merl Reagle but alas it is over just as it gets interesting.There are also the painfully non-judgmental profiles of the fanatics. Those people who dedicate themselves to solving puzzles in record time and winning the crossword championship. So screen time is spent not just watching the crossword championship talent show but watching the baton twirling practice in the park for the same.The film is very slick with excellent graphics but it certainly isn't at all deep for such an intellectual pursuit.

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??