King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters

Last night, Alan asked me if I wanted to see a documentary about gaming. I politely said sure but I stifled a “mehhh” and made silent plans of slinking off to dillydally online or catch up on my blog reading. During the first ten minutes I was already tiptoeing out of the room and pretending to clean up the kitchen. Alan, more persistent than usual, put the movie on pause and waited for me to sit back down. I resigned and gave in and I’m so glad I did! It didn’t take long for me to be pulled into this rather classic story of douchebag big shot vs good natured underdog. The douchebag big shot is Billy Mitchell, the world record holder for highest score in Donkey Kong. A record that stayed unrivaled for 20 plus years. Good natured underdog is Steve Wiebe, a middle school teacher who just wins your heart. Billy Mitchell. who looks the same as he did in the 80s, proved to be a cowardly and conniving title defender.

I was also surprised to find myself laughing out loud through out the film. It’s a very well made documentary and a juicy story made mostly out of archived video. The true story was so good, Alan was spot on when he said it is as if it was written. Trailer follows.

P.S. You can stream this through Netflix!