The Bottom Line
Pros
- A good-natured valentine to the world of crossword puzzles and those who are captivated by them
- Crossword enthusiasts will probably like this movie the best, but it can be enjoyed by others
- The documentary was more cinematic than I expected
Cons
- Lacks the bite and depth of the best documentaries of recent years
- The movie had a theatrical release, but has the feel of a documentary made to air on television
- Commentary didn’t provide the deeper understanding of the film I had hoped for
Description
- DVD containing Wordplay, a documentary centering around New York Times crossword puzzles
- Feature commentary with director, The New York Times crossword editor, crossword constructor
- DVD contains 16 deleted scenes, plus 7 interviews
- DVD provides 5 featurettes, each accompanying one of 5 crossword puzzles packaged with the DVD
- DVD has featurette "Wordplay Goes to Sundance"
- DVD contains music video "Every Word" by Gary Louris
- DVD has short film "Waiting for The New York Times" by Patricia Erens
- MPAA rating: PG for some language and mild thematic elements
- Feature film run time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- DVD release date: November 7, 2006
Guide Review - Wordplay DVD Review
(Please Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that About.com, Inc. is a part of The New York Times Company.)
Wordplay is a good-natured documentary that is a valentine to the world of crossword puzzles and those who are captivated by them. However, the film can be enjoyed by those who are not crossword aficionados. The movie is pleasant enough, but it lacks the bite and depth of the best documentaries of recent years. Although it had a theatrical release, it has the feel of a documentary made to air on television.
The key figure in the movie is Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times. Also, expert Merl Reagle explains how puzzles are constructed. When they are on camera, both of these men are part of the appeal of the film. Also fun are cameos by Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, filmmaker Ken Burns, the Indigo Girls and Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina—who all talk about their fascination with crosswords. The best sequences in the movie revolve around footage of the quirky contestants during coverage of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, an annual competition held in Stamford, Connecticut.
An unusual extra that comes with the DVD is a booklet with crossword puzzles. The DVD bonus materials include an audio commentary track with director Patrick Creadon, crossword editor Will Shortz and crossword constructor Merl Reagle. I found it was worth my time, but I was disappointed it didn't provide a deeper understanding of the film and subject matter. For more about the DVD special features, see the description section of this review.
