Viewed in
2010
Premise
A documentary about The New York Times crossword puzzles.
Loved
How the film engaged me into the subculture without dumbing down or information overload.
Disliked
Overuse of snazzy transitions.
Thoughts
Never thought a documentary on crossword puzzles could be so entertaining.
The heart of the film came from the various, fascinating crossword puzzle fans they interviewed, as they made their way to the crossword puzzle championship tournament. These people were fun to watch, as they came from all sorts of backgrounds, but they all had the same passion. Also, they had a sense of humor about themselves. Interspersed between their stories were interviews with celebrity crossword puzzle fans, which added a nice change of pace.
In the meanwhile, the documentarians taught me the history, and exposed how these puzzles are made, and solved. The behind the scenes stuff were definitely my favorite parts. Kudos for explaining things straight forward with just the right amount of details, delving into some cool nuances. Granted it's not rocket science, but I'm sure there would be ways to screw up these parts.
By the time I reached the tournament chapter, I was completely invested. This was the genius of the documentarians. Thanks to the first parts of the film, I cared about the competitors, and I was able to follow the action during the tournament. These two aspects culminated into an exciting final round experience, which offered some real, unexpected human drama.
This film harked back to a time when newspapers mattered. Part of me wondered if people will understand this subculture decades from now when newspapers might be extinct. There was an unintentional comedy moment when someone compared a great competitor to (pre-scandal) Barry Bonds.
My main problem with the film were the transitions. I get it that each shot can appear to be a square on a crossword puzzle, and you would move up/down/left/right to the next shot like another square. It was clever, but overused. The transitions ended up repetitive and unnecessarily busy.
I think you have to be a little brainy to truly appreciate this American subculture. But anyone who enjoys puzzles of any kind should be able to relate to this film, and enjoy it.
What I would change
Less transitions, of course!
