The classic board game, Scrabble, has been popular for decades. IThis film profiles a group of enthusiasts as they converge for a Scrabble convention where the word game is almost a bloodsport.
Chaikin and Petrillo have crafted an empathetic and revealing portrait of four men whose obsession is both a little bit sad and more than a little bit recognizable.
There's a pronounced lack of emotional pay-off that likely will derail any attempts to position Word Wars as an aud-friendly crowd-pleaser with breakout potential comparable to Spellbound.
... it's not quite as endearing as Spellbound, because we are looking at thirty-five year olds instead of twelve-year-olds, but it's still very interesting.
The human element is kept endearingly rich a la detailed background info and flaring tempers that are the hallmark of the low-budget tournament circuit.
An extraordinary band of misfits embark on trying to win a Scrabble tournament. I love seeing people with such eccentricities. I enjoy a good game of Scrabble, but these guys are obsessed. This also damages them as characters. Most don't have jobs, instead deciding to focus on Scrabble. Also, they don't tend to be that
smart. They simply memorize what's allowed and what isn't The film takes us to a number of places and events, but never gets exceptionally interesting. It also doesn't build up the tension of the games, just simple notes on who's winning pop up on screen. A nice piece as a simple observation of a strange world, but doesn't explore the subject.
My boyfriend is weird, so he makes me watch all these documentaries with him...which I tend to enjoy for the most part.
Word Wars is about a group of guys who participate in a Scrabble competition. They are obsessed with winning and the documentary follows them as they play. They are crazy guys, but it's still
interesting to watch.
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