CHICAGO – There’s nothing more boring than sitting at a bar and watching someone manhandle the joysticks of classic arcade games like Ms. Pac-Man or Donkey Kong.
On the other hand, Seth Gordon’s feature-length documentary “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters [11]” about obsessive arcade gamers could possibly be the most entertaining thing you could do on a Saturday night.
One of these is the so-called greatest gamer of all time: Billy Mitchell. He holds a record-perfect score on Pac-Man, the highest recorded score on Donkey Kong Jr. and, since 1982, the highest unchallenged score on the original Donkey Kong.
A middle-school science teacher who is described as a “perpetual loser,” Wiebe is humble and sweet in every way that Mitchell is boisterous and arrogant. With the support of his family, Wiebe dedicates himself to conquering Kong.
While most people play these games for recreation, this documentary studies the subculture of people who measure their worth by the ability to master them. In that, the film is about the very nature of competition and sportsmanship.
You see the sincerity of referee Walter Day (who compares video games to a Zen lifestyle), the questioned motives of Roy “Mr. Awesome” Shildt (who doesn’t want to see Wiebe get “chumpatized”) and the patience and understanding of Wiebe’s wife (the “First Lady of Donkey Kong”).
While the picture won’t make you want to leave the theater and head for the arcade, it will make you question how hard you would work to make your dream – no matter how silly – a reality.
By Dustin Levell [12]
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
Links:
[1] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/users/hollywoodchicagocom
[2] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/billy-mitchell
[3] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/dustin-levell
[4] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/labels/review.html
[5] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/picturehouse
[6] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/roy-shildt
[7] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/seth-gorden
[8] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/steve-wiebe
[9] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/the-king-of-kong-a-fistful-of-quarters
[10] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/movie-review/walter-day
[11] http://www.billyvssteve.com
[12] mailto:dustin@hollywoodchicago.com
[13] http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Films/films_frameset.asp?id=59981