2007 documentaryRating: 16/20
Plot: Billy Mitchell, a businessman/video game snob/self-described greatest person to ever walk the earth (he also resembles Jesus), has the world record score for Donkey Kong. Steve Wiebe, a school teacher/family man/possibly mildly autistic man, decides that he is going to beat that top score, and after practicing for God knows how long on the arcade game in his garage, finally does just that. He sends a video tape to a "referee" and is denied the record after fears that his machine has been tampered with. He travels to an arcade to come face-to-face with mega-geeks and beat the record live. The school teacher must overcome classic video game politics, hypocrisy, and taunting as he attempts to beat the record.
Well, this was a fascinating look into a world that I didn't know (and probably would ordinarily not care to know) existed. But the cut-throat world of competitive Donkey Konging is pretty exciting stuff! I wonder how much of the editing works in the amateur's favor because it just becomes too easy to root for him and hate the other guy, but it really does seem like that other guy is a true classless asshole. With bad hair. The narrative documentary is told through interviews with family and friends of the two men along with people associated with Twin Galaxies, the sanctioning body. It's one of those stories where the documentarians seemed to have just stumbled on a story that is about to become remarkable, recording everything so that we can just be along for the ride later (like Hoop Dreams). Throw this in the fact-is-stranger-than-fiction category. I laughed, nearly cried, and enjoyed myself immensely while watching this.
Here I am, a little sick and not recalling whether or not I ever got past the first level of Donkey Kong:
I thought this was rad, i recommend a companion piece. League of ordinary gentleman, about the pro bowling tournament...similar personalities etc....good stuff.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but what's your high score on Q-Bert? Oh, nevermind...you're a Joust man.
ReplyDeleteMy library's got a copy of the bowling movie, so I'll grab it next time I'm there.
in fact i am a q?*bert man too, got my initials at the top of the local retro aracade
ReplyDeleteAhh. This may sound incredibly stupid, but I could never figure Q-bert out. I never owned the Atari version, and when I played in arcades or at friends' houses, my games would last about 15 seconds because I'd just keep jumping off the edge. I was never really really good at any video games though...I like 'em, but I don't have much patience.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that you reviewed this movie. Your review is one of the best I've read. I'm amazed at how involved I became and how much I was pulling for Wiebe, even after not wiping his son's ass and being a less than stellar father in the grips of an obsession. Two of my favorite little moments in a movie filled with great ones are when Wiebe talks about getting into Guiness and his young daughter pointedly comments that some ruin their lives getting there, and when that tool who runs Twin Galaxies still can't pronounce Wiebe's name. This might be one of the best documentaries that I have seen because it takes a subject I don't give a crap about, descibes an entire unknown world, and made me emotionally involved and more informed. A 17 or maybe an 18.
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