Johny Savage Recommends: The King of Kong

Last night I saw one of the best films of 2007. It is also one of the least known films of 2007. The full title of the film is The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. This documentary follows Steve Weibe in his quest to beat the world record score in Donkey Kong. The holder of that score is a man named Billy Mitchell. Billy Mitchell’s score had gone unchallenged for 25 years until Steve came along. Billy Mitchell is what many of us would call a douche bag. In fact, the documentary makes him look so bad that he rises to the rank of Captain Douche Bag, which is appropriate because he leads an army of geek disciples who are mostly all douche bags themselves.

Throughout the film you cheer on Steve, a science teacher in Seattle who could be anybody’s neighbor, in his many attempts at beating Billy’s score. Steve’s first success is on his own Donkey Kong machine which he plays in his garage. He has videotape evidence of his world record score which he submits to Twin Galaxies, the official score-keeping group of classic games. All of the nerds at Twin Galaxies are Billy’s best friends, and as soon as the score is submitted, Billy questions the integrity of the score which leads to a questionable investigation and the disqualification of Steve’s record.

Steve eventually travels out to Florida to challenge Billy to a friendly competition. But Billy doesn’t want anything to do with Steve. He seems to fear tarnishing his image and refuses to come out of the shadows. I won’t give away the ending, but the most enjoyable part of the film isn’t the competition. The best part is watching the endless parade of geeks who inhabit this world of championship arcade gaming. Their sense of superiority only comes from the fact that they can pass the 20th level of Donkey Kong. I doubt any of these guys has been closer to a female than they have to their pet snake and/or spider that they keep in their bedroom in their parents’ basement. The reason I enjoy watching these nerds in all their glory is that there is nothing made up about the way they talk or act. The reason I know that this film is a documentary is because there is no way anybody could write the dialogue for the nerds that are interviewed. Any movie that includes the phrase "Don't get chumpatized" has my approval. Here's a small clip from the movie that gives you an idea of the type of characters on display: