The King of Kong (2007) (SIFF) - A

"The King of Kong" is exactly the kind of movie that makes me love the Seattle International Film Festival. I almost certainly would never have even heard of this delightful documentary if I hadn't noticed the description flipping through the SIFF program guide. "The King of Kong" chronicles Steve Wiebe's (he's from the Seattle area, incidentally) quest to break the Donkey Kong world record. Who knew that there could be so much drama surrounding the high score for a video game?

Wiebe seems like your typical somewhat geeky guy who just has no idea what he is getting himself into when he innocently wanders into the world of competitive video gaming. Apparently, Donkey Kong is considered the most difficult and skillful of the classic video games, so the world record for Donkey Kong is the holy grail of the insular world of competitive video gaming. Wiebe's attempts to break the record run him afoul of Billy Mitchell, the holder of the record, and the rock star of the competitive video gaming world. Unfortunately for Wiebe, he makes friends with Roy Shildt (the self proclaimed "Mr. Awesome") who is apparently the Darth Vader of the video gaming world. This leads to accusations of cheating and questioning of whether or not Wiebe really broke the record.

You really have to hand it to filmmaker Seth Gordon. As he chronicles Wiebe's various attempts to break the record, both at home and in public, and the counterattacks by Mitchell and his supporters, the film is literally edge of your seat dramatic. When the film ended with text announcing that a few months after filming wrapped up Wiebe had finally broken the record, and been recognized as the world record holder, the audience roared with approval, reminiscent of being at a Mariners game and witnessing the M's hit a walk off homer to win it.

Some of you reading this review are probably thinking, "really, a movie about a video game?" Trust me, no matter how little you like video games, the cast of characters you meet in this movie are so fascinating and the drama so palpable, you will enjoy this documentary.

Final Grade: A