Wordplay

The World of Crossword Puzzles Explored - Good Stuff
For me, crossword puzzles have been a casual thing, I might find one in the airline magazine on a flight and work on it to pass the time or my wife, who is a much more avid fan, might have left a partially finished one about, which I will pick up and see if I can find some answers.

Those who appear in this movie find crossword puzzles to be anything but casual. And this is not about just any crossword puzzle. This is the "gold standard." The NYT crossword puzzle. You may genuflect if you wish.

As the movie unfolds we hear how the NYT graduates the difficulty of its puzzles from Monday to Sunday. We learn how they are constructed, how they are made more difficult, what the rules of puzzle building are and how crossword puzzles infect and afflict those who are addicted to them. Celebrities from Ken Burns to Jon Stweart are utilized in cameo pieces, some of which are very entertaining.

This all culminates in the Marriott Hotel in Stamford, CT where the...

Pure Inspiration!
Crossworders-quel subculture! I had no idea that this world was out there, this competitive bunch of crossworders, but I must say that I am indeed a better person for now knowing! The movie begins by introducing the audience to a group people who are the key players in an annual crossword competition held/hosted by Will Shortz, editor of the NYT crossword puzzle. In following these different people (literally from all walks of life-a homosexual, a mid-west family man, a college student, a single female) the audience almost becomes a part of their group. It was absolutely warming, to say the least (Ellen Ripstein has got to be one of my all-time favorite characters!). Oddly enough, rules of the crossword puzzle are given, and the difficult nature of actually solving one, especially the NYT, is revealed. After leaving the theatre I was determined to solve one (I am embarrassed to say that I started small and have finally solved a Monday puzzle, and am coming close to a Tuesday...

Bravo!
I have seen many hundreds of movies in my lifetime, and I must say, this is very close to being my favorite.

It is not a giant movie... it is a small documentary about one interesting subculture. While there are plenty

of famous people in the movie and that makes it more entertaining, the real heroes are ordinary people,

and the movie makes them all lovable when it could just as easily have mocked them. I am not

the least bit interested in doing crossword puzzles, but this movie is about a community,

both virtual and real, from all walks of life, that loves to do puzzles, and the movie made

me like *them*.

The movie uses brilliant visualizations to show puzzles being constructed and solved. Several

reviews in newspapers have mentioned the wonderful cover of a Talking Heads tune by Shawn

Colvin at a key point in the movie... I echo that. You will not be able to get it out of your...

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