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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Wordplay Documentary with appearances by Will Shortz, Bill Clinton, Robert Dole, Ken Burns, Jon Stewart, Merl Reagle, Daniel Okrent, Tyler Hinman, Al Sanders, Trip Payne, Ellen Ripstein and Jon Delfin Director: Patrick Creadon Scriptwriters: Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley IFC Films Running Length: 90 minutes Rating: PG Crossword puzzlers do you have a movie here. Wordplay explores the world of the New York Times Crossword Puzzle, supposedly one of the difficult ones in the country. Will Shortz, National Public Radio's "Puzzle Master," is the current editor of this section of the newspaper, plus creator of many puzzles. The average time to solve one of these puzzles varies, but people I know usually take 30-40 minutes to do one, while in "Wordplay," champions do it in under four minutes. Which brings up the question, why does one brain perceive this information at a faster rate than others? Personally, I'm not into crossword puzzles, but enjoy "search-a-word" which some puzzlers find confusing. A crossword puzzle fan-friend can stare at a "search-a-word" page and not see anything, while I can see words immediately. Go figure. Back to the documentary, which is tongue-in-cheek about puzzlers. You meet past and current champions of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Fans of all ages meet every year at the competition in Connecticut wearing clothes with crossword patterns. This is like a sports event, but indoors with pencil and paper. Celebrity fans are interviewed, including former president Bill Clinton who shares his strategy for the puzzle (do the easy ones first), Robert Dole, television personality Jon Stewart, the musical group Indigo Girls, documentarian Ken Burns and even a baseball pitcher, Mike Mussina. A woman champion crossword puzzler, Ellen Ripstein, talks of her life before and after winning the championship. ("People know who I am now.") By the way, the competition is a timed event and the finalists work their puzzle on a large board in front of an audience. Nothing nerve-wracking there. There wouldn't be a film, though, without interviewing Will Shortz who set the "gold standard" of crossword puzzles. In case you think it is easy to construct a crossword puzzle, think again. There are definite rules for the number of blackened squares and to have a puzzle accepted for publishing by the New York Times is like winning an Oscar. Part of the fun of the film is seeing how a special crossword puzzle for the film Wordplay is constructed. Wordplay pokes gentle fun at fans of the competition, which takes up at least half the film. Who is the fastest? Who is the accurate one? It may not be the same person. Even though you may not be a crossword puzzler, you will enjoy the people presented in the film. This is a slice of America that everyone from former presidents to laborers enjoys. Copyright 2006 Marie Asner Submitted 6/22/06
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