Review

Review Date: 2-July-06
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Wordplay (2006)

I lost the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in high school.

I was 14 years old, a reckless and impressionable age, and while my peers went out camping, swimming, and sneaking their first cigarettes I holed up in my room oblivious to the world around me. I saw no one, ate little, and rarely bathed. I turned my circadian rhythms upside-down, sleeping during the day and huddling by a lamp throughout the night. I was completely given over to obsession and showed every sign of addiction.

I did nothing but solve crossword puzzles.

Okay, an acrostic or two figured into the mix, but the point is that I have been deeply into word games ever since I was a kid and now, years later, am amazed to discover that other folks from all walks of life also find them irresistible. How did I not know this? Maybe because a movie like "Wordplay" hasn't come along before. This documentary follows people who create, excel at, or simply love crossword puzzles as they do their thing for business, pleasure, and everlasting glory. The best part for me was learning that some men and women (mostly men?) so revel in words that they pour their heart and soul into puzzles. Like America's foremost puzzle editor, Will Shortz, who designed his own "enigmatology" major in college because he always viewed crosswords as the center of his life. Or like Merl Reagle, a professional crossword constructor who looks at a Dunkin' Donuts sign and sees "Unkind Donuts" instead.

Here's the catch, though: I doubt the movie counts as a good time for anyone who doesn't thrill at the sight of a black-and-white grid or immediately know the name of Nora's terrier (four letters, begins with A). "Wordplay" is adequately constructed but lacks a compelling subject or sustaining hook to draw in a general audience. Celebrity-watchers may enjoy seeing Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton, the Indigo Girls, Ken Burns, and some hot pitcher for the Yankees extol the joy of putting pen to the New York Times, but these people don't provide much insight into the phenomenon. In addition, although a degree of tension and heartbreak is captured at the annual puzzle-solving tournament in Stamford, Connecticut, the highlighted contestants don't exactly stand out in a crowd. (Unless you think a person obsessed with crossword puzzles is automatically a weirdo, but I'm not going there.) The filmmakers, Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley, pay fond tribute to a subculture without presenting its members as dramatic characters. Their picture focuses on a national pastime more than human interest, and even a puzzle addict like myself can see how that diminishes the documentary experience.

Copyright © 2006 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.