VIEW TRAILER I randomly stumbled upon this film in the Documentary section of my "Movies you will Heart" feature on Netflix. To put it quite simply, I was blown away by this film. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to be as entertained, emotionally involved, and on edge as I was for a documentary that was completely about Donkey Kong. I must applaud director Seth Gordon for this surprisingly heartwarming film that provided pretty much everything I could have hoped for in a documentary.
Best Performance - Steve Wiebe as himself. I said it before, but I will say it again, it is impossible to not like this guy. There is just something about him, with his sheepish smile and polite yet humble personality that makes you wanna give this guy a million bucks.
Worst Performance - Roy Shildt as himself, aka Mr. Awesome. This guy seems to want nothing more than some face time with the cameras, and gives Wiebe a bad name among the gaming world because they come to believe that Wiebe cheated with the help of Shildt, whose main goal in the film (and life, it appears) is to knock Billy Mitchell off his high-horse. Which I suppose is an admirable cause after all, but Roy goes about it the wrong way.
Quote of the Film - "Out of the entire global classic gaming hobby, there is one significant rivalry that is equivalent to the biggest sports rivalries... Yankees-Red Sox, Maris-Mantle, Heckle and Jeckle...This is up there on that level." -Walter Day on the Donkey Kong rivalry between Wiebe and Mitchell.
Image I will Remember - Steve Wiebe breaking down on camera with the rows of arcade games behind him, following Billy Mitchell submitting a tape that allegedly beat Wiebe's high score that he had just earned live. My heart literally broke in this moment.
RATING - 8/10. No this film doesn't have the actors of Shawshank Redemption, or the budget of Avatar, or the plot of Mystic River. But this movie will grab your attention and keep you interested until literally the final credits. (You will see what I mean). I really can't say enough about this film.
I didn't know exactly what to expect when I started watching this film, but the first 20 minutes or so complied with what my closest guess of what a Donkey Kong documentary might be about. The film started with some background into the world of classic gaming (Pac Man, Galaga, DK) and introduced some of the big players in the world of gaming. These studs included Walter Day, who is basically the head referee of all the gaming, Billy Mitchell, the longtime record holder in Donkey Kong and poster boy for gaming, and Steve Wiebe, the obscure gamer from Washington who never seemed to be able to catch a break. While the descriptions of these three men might lead most people to believe they were nothing less than a middle aged nerd-heard, these "actors" were each amazing in their own right. I couldn't imagine better characters being thought up for a fictional film.
I'm sure this will come as a huge shock to most people (and I can even hear some of you scoffing loudly at me through your computer), but not since James Braddock (Russell Crowe) in Cinderella Man have I actually rooted for a character like I did for Steve Wiebe. And similarly, not since Colonel Hans Landa (Cristoph Waltz) have I despised a character as much as Billy Mitchell. It was amazing how quickly and strongly the documentary was able to make me feel such polarized emotions to the two competitors. The most accurate analogy for Wiebe's attempt to become accepted and respected in the gaming world would probably be like an African American woman trying to get a membership at Augusta National....at the peak of the Civil War. Wiebe truly encapsulated every aspect of the term 'Underdog.' In this film, he did everything on the straight and narrow, while Mitchell did everything in a questionable and scheming way. These two men were opposites of each other in every possible way, including their appearance, backgrounds, demeanor, personality, and yes, even wives. I defy anyone who watches this movie to walk past these two men on the street and not give Steve Wiebe a hug while simultaneously mule-kicking Billy Mitchell in the groin. The man in the middle is Walter Day, the founder of Twin Galaxies, which is basically the equivalent to the IOC for the Olympics. He starts out as a member of the Billy Mitchell fan club, but eventually comes to respect and admire Wiebe for everything he goes through. All the other people in the film are pretty fun to watch as well, because most of them are nothing but Mitchell's Yes-Men, scrambling to report scores and updates to their master.
The characters themselves were without a doubt the thing that jumped out at me most about this film. As many documentaries do, the focus was on the people involved and their journeys. But aside from that, the actual plot of the film was surprisingly captivating and had a very nice flow to it. For those of you who are worried about it, watching this film will not make pocket protector spontaneously grow in your chest pocket, or your glasses to spawn protective tape around them. Director Seth Gordon did a good job of not drowning the audience with video gaming, although some of the comments these gamers make on camera is pretty hilarious. I'm gonna have to say my favorite was the young bachelor (still looking, I'm sure) who liked to wear a workout glove on his hand so he could, and I quote "game all day without getting callouses." This documentary also featured quite a bit more drama than I anticipated. I won't give away the ending because I really hope all of you watch it, but the film keeps you hanging on until the end.
Overall, this film is quirky, emotional, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately real. This next statement may turn the aforementioned scoffers into monocle-droppers, but it pretty much had everything I look for not only in a documentary, but a movie in general...Alright, I guess it didn't have a dynamite Howard Shore soundtrack, but other than that the movie delivered on all cylinders. I am definitely fast-passing this documentary to one of my Top 3 all time.
Will like if you enjoy... - Video Games, documentaries, underdog stories
Stay Away if... - You are a girl, if you don't like documentaries, or if you need your documentaries to be politically provocative or about the ever-increasing dilemma of fat kids in America.
Stay Away if... - You are a girl, if you don't like documentaries, or if you need your documentaries to be politically provocative or about the ever-increasing dilemma of fat kids in America.
Best Performance - Steve Wiebe as himself. I said it before, but I will say it again, it is impossible to not like this guy. There is just something about him, with his sheepish smile and polite yet humble personality that makes you wanna give this guy a million bucks.
Worst Performance - Roy Shildt as himself, aka Mr. Awesome. This guy seems to want nothing more than some face time with the cameras, and gives Wiebe a bad name among the gaming world because they come to believe that Wiebe cheated with the help of Shildt, whose main goal in the film (and life, it appears) is to knock Billy Mitchell off his high-horse. Which I suppose is an admirable cause after all, but Roy goes about it the wrong way.
Quote of the Film - "Out of the entire global classic gaming hobby, there is one significant rivalry that is equivalent to the biggest sports rivalries... Yankees-Red Sox, Maris-Mantle, Heckle and Jeckle...This is up there on that level." -Walter Day on the Donkey Kong rivalry between Wiebe and Mitchell.
Image I will Remember - Steve Wiebe breaking down on camera with the rows of arcade games behind him, following Billy Mitchell submitting a tape that allegedly beat Wiebe's high score that he had just earned live. My heart literally broke in this moment.
RATING - 8/10. No this film doesn't have the actors of Shawshank Redemption, or the budget of Avatar, or the plot of Mystic River. But this movie will grab your attention and keep you interested until literally the final credits. (You will see what I mean). I really can't say enough about this film.
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