"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"

This is a funny and fascinating documentary that is not so much about the Reagan-era video game as it is about obsessions. Perhaps, the movie suggests, we all have them and the fact that I'm sitting here typing out these words this very minute undoubtably proves that point. But the beauty of this film is that some people's obsessions are easier to observe than others.

The movie tells the classic story of good vs. evil and sets in the world of video gaming. The fact that the game is Donkey Kong is really beside the point--we never get any lessons, only theories, on how to play Donkey Kong. And, I gathered it's impossible to actually win the game; the object is simply to get the most points, knowing that, no matter how many points you ultimately score, someone, somewhere, if not this decade than perhaps three or four decades down the line, will score more than you.

That's what happens to Billy Mitchell. As a teen, in 1982, he scored 874,300 points in Donkey Kong and was recognized by an organization called Twin Galaxies, the self-appointed authority on all things related to the world of competitive video gaming, as the grand champion. He even wound up with a spread in Life magazine that touted his achievements. In the intervening years he has become a hot sauce mogul and the owner of a restaurant in Hollywood, Fla., who talks about the sacrifices required for being the best in the world at anything competitive. As the film progresses, you realize this guy is a first-class jerk, so full of himself that he is a crowd when he's the only person in a room. But the folks at Twin Galaxies think of him as god-like.

Meanwhile, across the country in Redmond, Wash., lives Steve Wiebe, a guy who always finishes second in everything he tries--baseball, music, even his professional life. He gets laid off from his job on the day he and his adoring and supportive wife sign for their new home. One day he reads about Mitchell's accomplishments in Donkey Kong and figures, "Gee, I can beat that."

And beat it he does. He scores over a million points and submits a video tape of his accomplishment to Twin Galaxies for recognition. However, when it's discovered that Wiebe has associated with a sworn enemy of Mitchell's, the powers-that-be disallow the tape. What follows is Wiebe's futile attempts to gain complete recognition.

The movie is blatantly manipulative. Wiebe is portrayed as a family man who plays drums with his son, and spends time swimming with his son and daughter, a husband who makes sure he kisses his wife if they are going to be apart for a second. Mitchell has children as well, but you never see them in this film. In fact, you never really get a glimpse of Mitchell's private life at all except for some terribly unflattering views of his wife. I have read reports that Mitchell is extremely upset about his portrayal in the film and, if I were him, I would be as well.

But, in the end, it really doesn't matter, because, like I said, this is not a film about their domestic lives so much as it about their obsessions with an arcade game and even the obsessions of the people at Twin Galaxies who never play video games but spend all their time managing the results of them. (I kept wondering throughout the film what these guys do for income.) Because these obsessions are not over anything approaching "life and death," it's funny to watch them obsessing and you should get plenty of laughs seeing these kids pretending they are grownups.

Grade: B+