Earns Its Own High Score
Score: 9/10 (Excellent!)
Bottom Line: Spend Your Quarters
To-The-Point: Compelling, hilarious, and often heartbreaking, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is the video game equivalent of what Rocky was to boxing. An unbelievable documentary, this film captures some of the most memorable characters and quotes in any film this year by crafting an underdog story set admist the world of classic coin-op arcade games. Providing true insight into humanity and life itself, it is a true Oscar contender for 'Best Documentary.'
Complete Truth: Near the end of The King of Kong, an exhausted and defeated gamer declares, "It's not about Donkey Kong anymore."
It never was.
Director Seth Gordon takes such a seemingly insignificant accomplishment - achieving the high score in Donkey Kong - and ultimately exposes a seedy underbelly of competitive gaming that reflects the desire to win in any manner possible, no matter the cost. Unfolding as a bizarre combination of a Christopher Guest mockumentary, The Karate Kid, and even Star Wars, such incredible melodrama spirals through deception, conspiracy, and honor to reveal deeper insight into fragile egos and shattered dreams.
The heart of Gordon's documentary is the focus on an obsessive cross-country rivalry between the all-time Donkey Kong high score champion, Billy Mitchell, and a new-comer with the skills to dethrone him, Steve Wiebe. Mitchell is a Florida hot-sauce entrepreneur that has held the high score in Donkey Kong - among other games - since his unprecedented performance in 1982 that resulted in a score most thought unbeatable. Steve Wiebe is a Washington science teacher that has always come in second-place throughout life, until one day he records a performance in Donkey Kong that surpasses Mitchell's two-decade-old record. Let the games begin!
Essentially, the most important aspect in creating an intriguing documentary is capturing a universal tale in the confines of a specific niche. With The King of Kong, we are presented with a "David and Goliath" scenario of good vs. evil, as underdog Wiebe becomes our hero in attempting to topple the shifty, villainous Mitchell from his perch atop the Donkey Kong high score leaderboard.
Steve Wiebe is our humble hero, a relatable family-man who embodies the phrase, "nice guys finish last." After being laid off from Boeing on the very day he and his wife sign the mortgage for their new home, Wiebe is presented with some free time as he is forced into finding another career. Enter: Donkey Kong. Constantly improving in Donkey Kong by playing on the arcade machine in his garage, Wiebe becomes obsessed with mastering the brutal patterns until he films himself achieving a record high score (complete with his young son screaming in the background for him to "wipe his butt"). Wiebe sends his tape to Twin Galaxies, the official record-keeping organization for video games, in the hopes of being recognized for his feat.
But not everything is as it seems. Twin Galaxies refuses to acknowledge Wiebe's accomplishment and even sends spies to his house, where they take apart his machine in an effort to identify any form of tampering they can use against him. Why such resistance against a simple high score? Because Billy Mitchell happens to be a member of the governing board of Twin Galxies, and he will do anything in his power to maintain his livelihood, masculinity, and only claim-to-fame.
Steve, what are you looking at? We shut off the Donkey Kong machine an hour ago. Steve?
Mitchell quickly becomes Wiebe's own Darth Vader, a personal rival that governs the empire known as Twin Galaxies. Eternally stuck in the '80s, Mitchell possesses an ego as big as his mullet as he prevents Wiebe from achieving his goal, refusing to grow up or mature in his child-like stubborness. When his only true adversary, Wiebe, challenges him to a live contest for the record, Mitchell refuses despite his belief that a high score isn't legitimate unless achieved in a public forum. When Wiebe once again reclaims the high score, Mitchell produces a mysterious video tape of a supposed session of Donkey Kong in which he earns an even higher score. Mitchell claims to "always have something up his sleeve," but the tape is suspiciously edited and suggests a con - yet Mitchell weasels Twin Galaxies into accepting the score.
At this point, Wiebe should've realized the impossibility of completing his task against such an arrogant, conniving foe and just given up. But, when it is announced that Twin Galaxies will be holding a competition to place the highest scores into The Guinness Book of World Records, both men will come face-to-face in an epic showdown.
The King of Kong is brilliant in contrasting these two individuals to build suspense, allowing a true story to naturally play out against such a ridiculous backdrop. Complete with '80s music montages, Kong reflects a real-life version of an '80s underdog sports film in which the stakes couldn't be any higher. As both men near middle age, capturing the high score in Donkey Kong is a desperate attempt to recapture their youth and fulfill their childhood dreams. One has everything to prove, the other has everything to lose.
Although the film could've been more thorough at times, the amount of captured footage allows Gordon to achieve a more cinematic vibe through editing, dialogue, and story. By exposing an entire underground community of hardcore nerds, Gordon is able to provide us with numerous memorable characters throughout the running time. Here's a group of people that are able to find acceptance and success in something generally considered insignificant, but for these people it's deadly serious - which allows us to eventually draw parallels to our own ambitions. After all, if you can't find something to interest you in life - some goal to achieve or hobby to perfect - then what's the point of life at all?
With a great story, memorable characters, and such an interesting focus, I can't recommend this true tale enough. The King of Kong finally allows video games to be taken (somewhat) seriously, using a classic narrative template to flesh out an intense grudge filled with conspiracies and suspicious activities. Considering this is the greatest video game movie ever created, I highly suggest you seek this limited-release film before it disappears.
Otherwise, it's game over, man.
Side Note: New Line Cinema has already acquired the rights to make a fictional version of this film. How is it even possible to make this over-the-top material more interesting while still keeping it believable? Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, my friends.
Hot sauce, video games, and mullets. Is there anything else in life you need?
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a Picturehouse release, is rated PG-13 for "a brief sexual reference."
Total running time is 79 minutes.
Starring Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, and Walter Day as themselves. Directed by Seth Gordon.
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