By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Patrick Creadon
Country: united_states
Year: 2006
Running time: 94
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492506/
Michael says: “Patrick Creadon’s WORDPLAY certainly is a crowd-pleaser, with a combination of celebrities talking about their crossword habits, interviews with the New York Times puzzle editor and one of the creators, and a look at the Annual Crossword competition (shades of SPELLBOUND!) My biggest complaint with WORDPLAY is with the pacing. During the first half of the film, Creadon alternates between the history and construction of the New York Times crossword puzzle, the celebrity
crossword amateurs, and the contestants of the annual competition. It’s with the second half where most everything is abandoned except for the competition itself. Creadon clearly wants to build to an exciting climax, but I found the first half to be far more entertaining. Not that it was a bad film at all… it was good. I’m sure it will make a lot of money too. 3 1/2 cats”
Bruce says: “This very entertaining documentary explores the worlds of those who are addicted to the New York Times Crossword Puzzles, those who participate in the annual crossword contest in Stamford, Connecticut, and those who design the puzzles. The film also profiles Will Shortz who is the editor of the puzzles for the Times. Creadon has constructed his film beautifully, poking his nose in all the right places and making sure that the suspense peaks during the 2005 championship in Stamford.
“Shortz was destined for the role he has in the puzzle world. Almost from infancy, he has been fascinated by puzzles. He has always been a free thinker. At school in Indiana he designed his own curriculum: enigmatology. Based on Shortz’ dashing good looks and sizeable moustache, some in the puzzle business describe him as the Errol Flynn of crosswords (or did they mean crossed swords?).
“What separates WORDPLAY from films such as WORD WARS, a look into the arena of competitive Scrabble, is the use of celebrity talking heads. Bill Clinton discusses how crosswords help him solve complex problems and communicate clearly and forcefully. The Indigo Girls claim doing crosswords improves their songwriting. Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina thinks crosswords keep him sane. Famed documentarian Ken Burns also is a crossword addict. The one person who comes across poorly is the self-involved John Stewart. He babbles on and on making his segments more about him than the crosswords.
“We get to watch Merl Reagle construct a puzzle with the words WORD PLAY as the theme. Each word must appear in a context that is different from the norm. For example ‘WORD’ appears in ‘CROSS SWORDS.’ We learn the rules for building a puzzle. About 1/6 of the squares should be black. There must be symmetry among the black squares. There can be no islands – every word must connect with another. Two letter words are not allowed.
“Ellen Ripstein, Tyler Hinman, Daniel Okrent , Patrick Jordan and Trip Payne are the key competitors who are profiled. We get glimpses of their diverse lives and styles in solving the puzzles. Ripstein, a former champion, is particularly funny in describing an argument with a boyfriend who complained about her fanaticism. ‘What are you best in the country at?’ she replied to a putdown.
“Using celebrities in the film detracts somewhat from the core. Yes, it spices things up a bit and certainly will attract filmgoers. This is a film that has plenty going for it without the name dropping. 4.5 cats”