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Seth Gordon, The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

by Chris Flippo
09/28/2007

Video games seem unlikely as a subject for engaging documentaries. However, King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is so joyous in its execution, there probably isn’t an audience member out there who wouldn’t be absorbed by it. This is really one of the year’s best.

As the film opens, Billy Mitchell is a whiz-kid gamer who has the world’s highest Donkey Kong score. However, after 25 years, along comes everyman Steve Wiebe. He has recently been laid off and, to take his mind off his financial woes, decides to play Donkey Kong in his basement for a few hours everyday. Steve eventually records himself beating Billy’s score and sends the tape into Twin Galaxies, an organization devoted to recording video game milestones. When politics come into play and Steve’s score cannot be counted, the two men start a mini-war fought not on some battlefield, but in the arcade.

This synopsis hardly does the film justice. What makes this film special is what director Seth Gordon does with the material. Though video games are rarely interesting to anybody but the player, Gordon wisely decides to make this story about something much bigger. This is not a film about Donkey Kong. This is a film about pride, obsession and what goes on in the mind of the man who strives for perfection. It also happens to be hilarious.

For a film about geekdom, the film never once came across as exploitative, which is really a triumph in itself. A lesser film would have had us laugh at these characters for playing games into their thirties. Not so with this one. We laugh because of the lengths of their obsession and, in the end, we identify with them because we know that there were times when we too have been similarly driven. Nobody puts it better than Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day: “I wanted the glory, I wanted the fame. I wanted the pretty girls to come up and say, ‘Hi, I see that you’re good at Centipede.’”

Though this is a very funny film, there are some subtle truths. At the end of the day, what good is being the best at something if that’s all you have? The ending strikes a perfect note, not only of triumph, but also of objectivity. To be the world’s best Donkey Kong player is an ambitious goal, but there is more to life (yes, something besides Pac-Man).

This film goes to show that not every documentary has to deal with what is wrong with America today. Documentaries can have villains, heroes, tension, comedy and all those other things you go to the movies for. Besides, comedy should not only be reserved for fiction. Have you taken a look at the world lately? There are some pretty damn funny things going on.

This is a film not only for gamers, but for anybody who likes good movies (which, you may be surprised, is fewer people that you think). However, while we’re on the subject, is it a coincidence that The King of Kong is coming to the Cine the same week as Halo 3 is hitting shelves? Maybe. Maybe not. But just remember, obsession is a dangerous thing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the movies again.