IMDb RATING
7.4/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
An in-depth look at The New York Times' long-time crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz and his loyal fan base.An in-depth look at The New York Times' long-time crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz and his loyal fan base.An in-depth look at The New York Times' long-time crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz and his loyal fan base.
- Awards
- 1 win & 7 nominations
Bill Clinton
- Self
- (as William Jefferson Clinton)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTyler Hinman would eventually work for Google for a few years.
- Quotes
Merl Reagle: [driving by a Dunkin' Donuts shop] Dunkin' Donuts... put the D at the end, you get Unkind Donuts... which I've had a few of, in my day.
Featured review
Biased Documentary, But It Got Me Back Doing These Puzzles Again
Being someone who has enjoyed figuring out crossword puzzles here and there over the last 20 years, I was enthused about watching this documentary and wondered if it would renew the passion I used to have for doing these puzzles. Yes, it did, so kudos to the documentary to make it interesting enough.
Is it enough to hold the interest of a non-crossword player? I doubt it. If the puzzles aren't fun to you, I doubt this movie would be entertaining, either.
The film is in two parts: a look at "celebrities" who play, and some of their comments and to the man who puts together the daily New York Times puzzle. The second part - the largest segment - is devoted to USA Crossword Championships held in each in Stamford, Conn. We see the top players profiled and then are witness to the 200- tournament with it's dramatic 3-person playoff finals.
The first part is simply an unabashed Liberal love-fest with big plugs for the Times and NPR, and the celebs are all big Liberals, from Bill Clinton to Jon Stewart to Ken Burns, the Indigo Girls, etc. If one can ignore the obvious political bias, it's still interesting.
Then, we get profiles of the top players, from the young prodigy who first entered the tournament at 16 and is one of the favorites to win at 20; the veteran who always is in the finals but never can do better than third; to the gay guy who is seen at home playing pinball with his roommate. They kiss each other on the lips. What was the purpose of inserting that in the movie? What did that have to do with the story? Nothing, obviously, and it wasn't necessary but when have Liberal filmmakers ever exercised good judgment?
Also profiled is an interesting woman who won this tournament once but hasn't been close since. Then, we have others such as a guy who plays a guitar and sings and another who is extremely introverted, on and on. Many of them fun to watch. Many of them are amazing crossword talents who can zip off thee answers to a fairly tough one in just a few minutes.
Although not hard to predict given their "past performances," the finale was still dramatic and interesting to watch.
Overall: puzzle devotees - highly recommended; non-players: not recommended.
Is it enough to hold the interest of a non-crossword player? I doubt it. If the puzzles aren't fun to you, I doubt this movie would be entertaining, either.
The film is in two parts: a look at "celebrities" who play, and some of their comments and to the man who puts together the daily New York Times puzzle. The second part - the largest segment - is devoted to USA Crossword Championships held in each in Stamford, Conn. We see the top players profiled and then are witness to the 200- tournament with it's dramatic 3-person playoff finals.
The first part is simply an unabashed Liberal love-fest with big plugs for the Times and NPR, and the celebs are all big Liberals, from Bill Clinton to Jon Stewart to Ken Burns, the Indigo Girls, etc. If one can ignore the obvious political bias, it's still interesting.
Then, we get profiles of the top players, from the young prodigy who first entered the tournament at 16 and is one of the favorites to win at 20; the veteran who always is in the finals but never can do better than third; to the gay guy who is seen at home playing pinball with his roommate. They kiss each other on the lips. What was the purpose of inserting that in the movie? What did that have to do with the story? Nothing, obviously, and it wasn't necessary but when have Liberal filmmakers ever exercised good judgment?
Also profiled is an interesting woman who won this tournament once but hasn't been close since. Then, we have others such as a guy who plays a guitar and sings and another who is extremely introverted, on and on. Many of them fun to watch. Many of them are amazing crossword talents who can zip off thee answers to a fairly tough one in just a few minutes.
Although not hard to predict given their "past performances," the finale was still dramatic and interesting to watch.
Overall: puzzle devotees - highly recommended; non-players: not recommended.
helpful•118
- ccthemovieman-1
- Mar 22, 2007
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Word Play
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,121,270
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $32,847
- Jun 18, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $3,177,636
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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