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Word Wars
Produced and Directed by
Eric Chaiken and Julien Petrillo
Released 2004 |
Review by Ken Cornwell |
Word Wars is an absorbing documentary that takes a look at the world of competitive Scrabble and the lives of four players as they prepare for the National Scrabble Championship. It’s a fun, carefully constructed movie that gets inside the mind of these obsessive players who spend every available minute in front of a Scrabble board. The unspoken question of the film is, do they have what it takes to win? Can they memorize enough words, overcome self-doubt and physical problems, and be lucky enough to take the big prize? Do they know enough ‘q’ words to build up the highest word score?
The stakes: twenty-five thousand dollars and an appearance on the Today show go to the person who wins the most Scrabble games by the end of the five-day tournament in San Diego. The film starts with a quick lesson on the finer points of the game and an overview of the strategy involved for those of who are just weekend players. Then it introduces us to the motley cast, four men who are all skilled enough to win the big prize.
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"G.I. Joel" Sherman |
Joel Sherman must try to overcome his physical ailments to compete in the game. Asthmatic and prone to gastrointestinal distress (for which he’s been nicknamed G.I. Joel) he’s a whiny, but strangely loveable and sympathetic character. His friend Matt Graham is a hyper guy, constantly drinking coffee, but paradoxically interested in fitness and vitamins as a way of preparing himself for tournaments. The third member of this unlikely group is Marlon Hill, just scraping by and proud of it, getting by on what he can scrounge from his game winnings. Cantankerous and feisty, he claims to be an “angry black man,” but he takes time to coach an after school Scrabble club for elementary school kids.
They’re all chasing Joe Edley, the number one ranked player and self-styledZen master. The defending champion, Edley takes a spiritual and philosophical approach to the game. He practices tai chi before games to calm himself and his motto is “Focus, focus, focus,” but his pompous speechifying grates on the others. He seems poised for another victory, but one of the pleasures of the film is the unexpected twists and turns it takes: will Edley’s winning strategy hold up? His fellow players grudgingly acknowledge his skill, but delight in the possibility of his defeat.
I was struck by the motivations of the players. While they all want to win the small monetary award that goes to the victor of each tournament, nobody’s getting rich on the Scrabble tour. And they have no great love for words and the meanings of words. (It’s the logical thinkers competing on this level, the Math teachers rather than the English teachers.) It’s really the spirit of competition coupled with an obsession for the game itself that keeps them moving from game to game. They desperately want to succeed at what is, for most of them, the only aspect of their lives they can be considered winners.
The filmmakers, Eric Chaiken and Julian Petrillo, have a knack for catching moments when the players let their guard down and show how much they really like each other. When a frustrated Marlon claims to not like Matt at all, the image of Marlon carefully shaving Matt’s neck is juxtaposed. When G.I. Joel does unexpectedly well at a tournament, Marlon is the first one to jump up and congratulate him. These little moments got me rooting for the guys; I found myself surprisingly moved by the final outcome of the big championship.
Does one of our intrepid Scrabble players win the money and the glory in the final round? It’s a tribute to the storytelling skill of the makers of Word Wars that we’ve gotten involved enough in the Scrabble world to care who ends up talking to Ann Curry on the Today show as the final credits roll. And I for one, picked up some new tricks: I’m definitely learning more ‘q’ words before my next game.
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