Thursday, March 6, 2008

The King of Kong

"If anybody wants to see, there's a Donkey Kong kill screen coming up. "


I am a nerd. There is no denying that. However, there are varying degrees of nerdom. Some people look nerdy. Others act nerdy. Still some do nerdy things. I think I fall into the 'do nerdy things' category. Come on, I write a couple blogs and edit Wikipedia articles. However, I do not have a pocket protector, nor do I stand up for the sanctity of the top gamer in the world.


"If anybody wants to see, there's a Donkey Kong kill screen coming up. "

The King of Kong is a documentary about one man's challenge over The King of Nerds and his persuit of the Donkey Kong title. The world record was held by super king of nerds and mullets Billy Mitchell (not the same Billy Mitchell that was the father of the American Air Force) His challenger is Steve Wiebe, an otherwise normal looking guy.

"If anybody wants to see, there's a Donkey Kong kill screen coming up. "


This movie helps the casual gamer to peer into the nether dark and unknown world of Geekdome. It captures the torture, pain, and deceipt that one must go throw to reach a kill screen. You don't know pressure until you've had thirty-five 40 year-old losers peering over your shoulder on a Friday night waiting with anxious anticipation of your new world record. Some shake. Some tremble. Hearts flutter. Accusations fly. You know the board is rigged. He must have seen the tapes. He knows the moves. This is more movie than the average person can handle. And Mr. Awesome knows it.


" I want you to remember that no punk bastard ever got a gnarly piece of poontang by being sensitive and considerate! "

As Wiebe attempts to break the record, he videotapes his games. His children tend to be the bigger challenge. His kids' requests for food, attention, and wiping of the butt are ignored or pushed aside to be tended later. Later in the movie, his daughter asks him what the Guiness Book of World Records is. Wiebe tells her, to which she replies,"So why would people want to ruin their lives to be in this book", which leaves Steve speechless.

"Everything would've fell right into place, but he forgot about one thing: About me convincing Steve Wiebe not to be a chump, talking him out of chumpatizing himself. "

The interviews are hysterical. The movie is chocked full of colorful and eccentric characters. Who knew that nerds were so territorial about their high scores and so defensive of their cliques of other nerds? Don't mess with nerds. They have technology. They'll make taunting videos of you that will destroy your Twin Galaxy street 'cred.


"Sounds like he just cleared another board, but we could have a wild barrel, or some aggressive fireballs."

Interviews include Roy Shildt, who dubs himself as Mr. Awesome. Then there's Brian Kuh, proud defender of Billy Mitchell and inspector general of high scores and captain of gaming conspiracy theories. And let's not forget Walter Day, owner and founder of Twin Galaxies, the head quarters for gaming nerds around the world. When you watch the movie, you won't miss him. He's the mentally ill psychotic looking guy who looks drunk and possessed while wearing his referee shirt.


"I thought I was gonna be the first FunSpot kill screen, and then I had three fireballs trap me, I had the hammer in my hand, they still got me"

The movie is beyond funny. It is documented proof that some people have been stuck in a time warp and they probably don't even know who Meatloaf is. I give this movie 4 stars. You'll get a good laugh!

4 comments:

bricknhymr said...

All I can say is Awesome

Charm City Kim said...

I'm with you but I found myself getting SO angry with the Twin Galaxies henchman and stupid Billy Mitchell.

Steve Wiebe all the way!

Unknown said...

Right on!

The director commentary and extras are also stellar. The first time I saw this movie, I also felt the righteous indignation towards the wrongs portrayed in the film, but take that with a grain of salt. For example, the video tape score that Walter Day accepts during the Funspot tournament was only up on the site for about 48 hours before it was taken down for further investigation. Also, Steve Wiebe was actually the record holder on DK for 3 years.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great GREAT film (aSeth Gordon is awesome too!), and Billy is a pretty arrogant guy, but it's not quite as black and white as it seems at first.

I met some of these guys this past weekend AT Funspot, and naturally, just finished blogging the heck out of that experience:

http://keepingmycool.blogspot.com/2008/06/funspot-tournament-part-1.html

Hope you enjoy, and I'll keep an eye on your further exploits from your couch. ;)

Anonymous said...

Billy Mitchell is the ideal video game villain, nappy facial hair and everything

 
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