Wordplay

Wordplay ***

"Wordplay" is an "everyman's documentary." It's funny, light, entertaining, and a real nail biter at times. It has nothing to do with new 9/11 theories, or reasons why George W. Bush should be shot and killed, but it's the kind of documentary that I enjoy, in the vein of "Mad Hot Ballroom." "Wordplay" tells the story of the man behind the crossword puzzles in the New York Times, Will Shortz. He edits them, sometimes tweaks with the clues that other people submit to him, and overall is the person responsible for publishing the puzzles that people call "the motherload." They say that if you can solve the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle, you can solve any crossword puzzle that is thrown at you.

Now, I dabble at the crossword puzzles, but I'm the type of solver who will go through the clues, and then write in what I know, and try to branch off from there. I hardly ever finish the puzzle, but I have a good time starting it. These people go quicker than quick. Some of them will solve entire puzzles in under two minutes. And thats when this documentary starts to find it's subject, greater than the one about the editor. It's about Will Shortz' tournement that he holds every year in a hotel in Stamford, for the last 28 years. All these people gather around the hotel for forty-eight straight hours of puzzle solving. Everybody is friends with one another. They have known each other for years, and usually only see each other once a year. Everybody solves seven puzzles, and then the three contestants with the highest scores goes on to the final round, where they solve one final puzzle on a big board, in front of the other contestants. They wear headsets, so that they can't hear any of the commentary and other noise that is going on.

It may not sound like the most interesting thing in the world, but watching these people solve these puzzles is fascinating. It's amazing how fast they go. Towards the end, it even becomes a nail-biter, because the viewer kind of begins to root for a certain person to win. The final round is intense, and even has a disappointing twist in the middle of it, which I won't go and reveal. It takes all the fun out of it.

Like I said, the latter half is related to the tournment, but the first half is relataed to how the puzzle designers go about their business. You get to see exactly how the creators go about making the puzzles, and it really is hard work. I don't think I could have the patience for the things they do. There are even interviews with various celebrities, including Bill Clinton, Mike Mussina, Jon Stewart(who is painfully unfunny as usual,) and Bob Dole. Thinking back, there was a genius puzzle in the NY Times on election day 1996, as the movie shows, where the clue 39 Across and 43 Across went hand in hand. The clue was "The lead story in the newspaper tomorrow." 43 Across' answer is "Elected," and 39 Across has seven letters, so the hidden message appears to be "Clinton Elected." But when looked at, it could also be "BobDole Elected." The creator of that amazing puzzle found words to make it so that both ways worked! I was in awe at how it's done, and watching these minds at work is very inspiring, and always entertaining. It's certainly a great documentary, especially for people that aren't exactly big on the genre. It's alot of fun.