Wordplay

Wordplay

dvd (2006)

I never thought I'd be on the edge of my seat watching a movie about crossword puzzles. And rocking on the edge of the couch scoffing into a jar of pickled onions I felt like my eccentricity paled in comparison to these fantastically minded wordsmiths. My goodness.

Wordplay is a film about about that aspect of our culture that sits somewhere in the Arts or TV section of the paper, that part of our lives that makes us want to fill in the blanks and nut something out. It's all about crossword puzzles and the interesting people who challenge themselves with them. And not only do they test their own minds but all compete in a championship, held the same time every year since the 70s.

I thought it was a brilliant film. It had me laughing and drawing closer to the endearing qualities of these full-minded individuals. It reminded me of Spellbound, the documentary about children who compete in spelling bees. I felt like the main focus of the film was that no matter who we are or what we do, when we're doing a crossword, we're all the same: bent over a piece of paper trying to fill in the boxes. Fantastic.