King of Kong: Fistful of Documentary

I come back from the dead in what I'll consider a "Special Edition" of my blog. What makes this so special? Well, because it's a first for me (as has been most of my past reviews, but I don't care about those). I'm going to go down a road less traveled and talk about a documentary some of you may or may not know about: King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

Let me get this out of the way immediately: this is an awesome film. It could work as a piece of fiction its so fascinating Okay, now I've cleared that up, here's a rapid-fire version of what I mean:

-It has a set protagonist and antagonist (Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell, respectively), a sort of anti-hero (Roy "Mr. Awesome" Schildt and no, I didn't just pull that nickname out of my ass), and a main character that largely wins over a group of people who are at first skeptical (pretty much every doubts poor Steve).

A documentary with a plot? Cool. In addition to the surprisingly compelling story (which should be laughable: a couple of dudes duking it out over an ancient arcade game record), director Seth Gordon let's us peer into the dwindling arcade game community. If that doesn't sound interesting, you don't understand their level of obsession. As someone who still plays and makes mods for a 16 year-old game, I do. These people are bizarre, and they hold grudges. I know them. I talk to them online. Trust me, you don't know weird until you've seen a guy talk about fingerless weight-lifting gloves and their usefulness pertaining to Marble Madness. That's not even the weird part: the guy goes for the record in the "foot division," which is exactly what it sounds like. (HOLY SHIT!).

In spite of all their weirdness, the main 2 guys sort of represent the 2 extremes: the normal, and the so-obsess-he's-a-total-dickhead. Billy Mitchell holds the record for Donkey Kong. He's also a raging egomaniac and an asshole who probably feels no human emotions (and I'm unbiased). Steve Wiebe is a family man and algebra teacher with a small history of staggering disappointment. He's the ultimate underdog, and against Billy Mitchell and his disciples (such as the "Billy is God" preaching dickweed Brian Kuh), you can't help but cheer for him. You're emotionally invested.

I keep saying Billy's an asshole, but you might asking, "Can you back that up?" Yes. Some of things he does, I honestly can't believe. Part of it is probably because he's got a virtual cheer-squad behind him, but there's something. He has to be misanthropic or something. Even after his best friend (if he even considers him that) compliments Steve Wiebe's character, all he can muster up is, "I don't know enough about the situation." Also, he never shows up to a promised competition that's about 10 minutes away from his house (Steve traveled cross-country from Seattle to Florida to be there). Goddamn.

If you've ever wondered what pure evil looks like next to good, here's a look:

<-----Asshole

Cool Guy ----->

By the end, Steve's gone through so much BS it's a wonder he's still kicking, but everyone comes around, just like you will. Even if you don't get attached to the story, there are great quotes to be heard along the way such as (though I can't remember these word-for-word):

Mr. Awesome:
"Doesn't let himself get chumpatized."

Steve and his daughter:
"I never knew the Guinness Book of World Records was so important."
"Yeah, a lot of people read that book."
"....Some people ruin their lives just to be in there."

Brian Kuh:
"Donkey Kong kill screen coming up, guys!" (OVER AND OVER AGAIN!)
Need I convince you more:

Overall: 10. I can't recommend this enough. My initial reaction was to just say 9, but seeing as this is a documentary that manages to capture my attention, I can't help but want to watch it over and over. It's funny, it's insightful, you'll actually start cheering halfway through the damn thing, and it shows you something that you may not even know existed.

It's the perfect documentary. Watch it, enjoy it, tell your friends. Also, sit through the credits.