This one may be a bit of an acquired taste.  Wordplay is a documentary detailing one Mr. Will Shortz , lead crossword puzzle designer at the New York Times and National Public Radio, fanatically looked forward too by millions of Americans every day.  It also goes into detail with one of Shortz’ main puzzle designers, Merle Reagle and the difficulty involved in squeezing words together in a 15 by 15 box.  We’re also treated by numerous puzzle playing luminaries, from  former President Bill Clinton to senator Robert Dole.  This all culminates in the annual New York Times national crossword puzzle tournament, rife with drama, intrigue, excitement and betrayal.  Ok, maybe not betrayal, but all that other stuff is there, for real.

And to be quite honest with you folks, that’s really all there is to it.  We’re introduced to the various contestants that will be participating in this years tournament and the interesting personalities behind the people who can do crossword puzzle in two minutes.  It can take me, for example, the better part of a week to do a crossword puzzle, and I don’t think I’ve ever completed a Times crossword puzzle.  Aside from meeting the former presidential enemies, we also get to meet avid crossword puzzlers such as filmmaker Ken Burns, New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, Comedian John Stewart and musicians the Indigo Girls.

It all boils down to the big tournament which has some genuine drama and heart break to it, truth be told.  Wordplay is a very well done, cleverly edited documentary that you probably won’t give much of a damn about unless you’re a word puzzle guy.  I’m a Scrabble kind of guy personally.  This works for me because I don’t have to know the definition of the word djinni to kick your ass.  Crossword puzzles I can’t really get with, and as such, Wordplay bored me a bit.  I do tend to tear through the TV guide crossword puzzle though.