MOVIES YOU HAVENT SEEN, VOL. 3

The King of Kong:  A Fistful Of Quarters (2007)

Dir. Seth Gordon

One of the best documentaries of all time THE KING OF KONG chronicles two grown men as they battle for the all time high score for the arcade DONKEY KOKNG, and DONKEY KONG JR.  The film follows STEVE WEIBE, a down on his luck Joe Everybody who struggles for recognition among the video game community for his DONKEY KONG record, and the villainous video game master/weirdo BILLY MITCHELL as he tries with all his skill to top WEIBE's record.  But its about much more than just a race to the top.  Its a battle for one man to become a winner after a lifetime of coming up short in everything he's attempted, and his struggle to overcome his own self-doubt in order to finally accomplish his grand goal.

Before you watch this movie know that it is all real.  All the events, and more importantly, all the PEOPLE are 100% real.  So when Steve Weibe beats the DONKEY RECORD while his son calls him from the bathroom to wipe him clean, its real.  When Billy Mitchell shows up with his black Levi's from 1980, black denim shirt, and American flag necktie, its real.  It's all real, which makes this documentary much more engaging and soulful then it would have been if it were just a movie.  Hilarity will ensue each time an interviewee discusses how he or she played hours on end to make an all time record, play at FUNSPOT, and idolize BILLY MITCHELL.  But with the comedy comes the tragedy.  Each time a record is broken and then defeated, you feel the player's pain.  Each time they tell stories of how their lives have changed because of video games, you feel the same way, and find yourself relating to them in some way.  Video games have had significant moments in all our lives, but for these guys, it IS their lives.  

A running theme with my reviews here is to not give many details about the plot because I want people to be surprised and feel fresh when watching these movies.  Some of the best movie experiences I've had were times when i knew almost nothing about the movie, this was one of those times.  THE KING OF KONG is a great movie about self motivation, never giving up, and tons of video games.  It shows us that no matter how absurd our own goals may seem to others, we must strive to achieve them.  And no matter how weird our obsessions may be, there's always about a million people who are into the same weird thing.

BONUS:  The movie was spoofed in an episode of SOUTH PARK titled 'MORE CRAP', check it out.