King of Kong - A-

Not yet released. 79 minutes.

I never thought a documentary about elite classic arcade game players would be this good. King of Kong puts a microscope on the sub-sub-sub-culture of classic arcade gaming and its 'icon' Billy Mitchell (pictured above). The latter half of the movie focuses on rival gamer Steve Weibe's life and his struggle to attain acknowledgement as the best Donkey Kong player ever.

This is a great movie, judged by any standard, not just 'indie-film guy' standards. It is the rare film that can be both hilarious and poignant all in the same 79 minute time period. Billy Mitchell is cocksure and basks in the light of his 'celebrity' and manipulates the gamers to continue his status as "Gamer of the Century." He is a character that is pathetic, but thinks he's better than everyone, and thus is the easiest type of person to loathe. He delivers at least 6 laugh out loud lines ("I know I'm not a god"). The yin to his yang is the earnest and decent Steve Weibe, a guy who has never had good luck and is hesitant to assert himself. The two are played against each other perfectly by the director (Seth Gordon).

The movie allows the viewer to see the sub-culture for what it is without making fun of it. I think it highlights the fact that people find happiness and meaning in life in any number of places, and that one (gaming) is not better than another (soccer, boating, Civil War re-enactment, etc). Its like "The Long Tail" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail ) for hobbies.

So far, this is the best movie I have seen this year. I saw it at the AFI Dallas Film Festival last night (with An Appraiser - who also loved it), and it was just bought by Picturehouse in Sundance in January, so it will likely be released this summer or fall. http://www.afidallas.com/

Funniest scene: As Steve nears the final screen of Donkey Kong during a gamers tournament, a Kong aficionado is trying to drum up a crowd and keeps walking up to people (in all seriousness) saying "We've got a Donkey Kong kill screen possibility, if you're interested."

Best scene: Steve discusses his disappointment after he is denied the record (even though he just recorded the highest score) because Billy has sent in a videotape of an even higher score.

Best line from Appraiser: After a random pre-screening Q & A with Dolph Lundgren (in town filming a movie, but had nothing to do with this one), Appraiser leans over and says (in a Russian accent, of course): "If he dies, he dies."