Wordplay

I first saw this film on the big screen with my friend Jared Feldman in Washington, DC. We loved the movie and would often quote the film.

I recently re-watched the film, and found it as wonderful the second time. For a word dork like myself, it was a pleasure to watch.

-Jeremy Paul Gallagher

This is probably a film for crossword fans, though anyone who has ever wondered about people who seem hooked on crosswords will find this documentary a bit of a revelation, too. There are surprising moments in the film - first about things you take for granted. Where did crosswords come from and what are the underlying "rules" of creating crosswords? How does someone create a crossword? Who is responsible for the daily NY Times crosswords, and how did that get to be a real job? Then there are curious discoveries, like the obsession with time, and detours into subjects like whether a computer could ever be taught to do crosswords.

Structurally, the film is a lot like a crossword in the way its various story lines intersect. To show, I guess, that crosswords are not just for nerds, there are celebrity appearances from the Indigo Girls to Ken Burns to Bill Clinton. And finally there's coverage of the annual national crossword tournament in Stamford, CT, where you marvel at the hyped up drama and the complexities of the competition and the scoring itself - the playoff between the 3 highest scorers, wearing noise-producing headphones, is performed on stage before an audience. How did that evolve? Anyway, for novelty it's hard to beat this entertaining documentary about a basically unfilmable subject, and it may even get you trying the next crossword you see, just to see what all the excitement is about.

Anyone who is a crossword "nut" will appreciate this humorous and interesting documentary. I had no idea that there were actually over 100 crossword constructors that worked on each New York Times Crossword. I guess I felt that most of it was done by computers. Loved it.

For anyone who likes working crosswords or who wonders how crosswords are created, this movie is a must. The people featured in the film are fascinating--all are word freaks who are students of the written word and who use their knowledge to work and/or create crosswords.

A must see if you are a cross word puzzle fanatic. Great documentary on the NYT crossword puzzle.