Fifty Million Americans do Cross Word Puzzles every week on a regular basis. Wordplay, directed by Patrick Creadon explores this phenomenon. There are interviews with avid crossword puzzle fans including President Clinton, Jon Stewart, Bob Dole, Mike Mussina, Ken Burns and others. But the main focus of the documentary is on Will Shortz who is the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times; known to millions as NPR’s “Puzzle Master,” and the World Crossword Puzzle Championship. Wordplay conveys the enthusiasm and pleasure so many people get out of doing a crossword puzzle. If you’re someone who has never tried doing a crossword you might want to give it a try after watching this documentary.
If you, a friend or relative, like doing crossword puzzles you will find this documentary “exciting,” “thrilling, with “nail biting suspense” as the quotes on the cover claim, perhaps with a tinge of “tongue and cheek.” Perhaps Wordplay will bring you ” ___ ” (a three letter word for happiness). But even if you have never completed a crossword puzzle you will be entertained and gain insight into a topic that has social and cultural implications. The documentary introduces the World Crossword Puzzle Championship that takes place every year in March at the Marriott Hotel in Stamford, CT. This event started by Will Shortz many years ago has grown into a right of passage for many crossword puzzle enthusiasts. Wordplay also looks at how crossword puzzles are designed and written to be more difficult depending on the day of the week.
The story evolves around Will Shortz and the World Crossword Puzzle Championship as central themes. Wordplay brings in interviews with celebrity puzzle doers as they work on puzzles. It becomes clear that there’s a form of competition between the puzzle creator and the puzzle doer. A form of communication all wrapped up in across and down exchanges. The documentary is well shot, edited and paced.
Wordplay is one of those documentary films on a subject that may sound too technical or “nerdy;” a topic that doesn’t appear to have social, political or advocacy overtones. But Wordplay is a nonfiction story, that once you start watching, changes your perspective about the subject it’s covering. You definitely won’t think about crossword puzzles in the same way after viewing this documentary film. Wordplay has the same kind of wonderful appeal as Helvetica, a great story about a typeface!
A good documentary film tells a story. It not only brings you insight and knowledge into some aspect of the human experience it allows you to vicariously experience that world. Wordplay does all this in an entertaining fashion.
Wordplay – 2006 – IFC films – 85 min. Directed by Patrick Creadon
J R MARTIN
TRAILERS
Tags: crossword puzzles, Documentary Film Review, Jon Stewart, Will Shorz, Wordplay, World Crossword Puzzle Championship
