The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

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The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Seth Gordon
Produced by Ed Cunningham
Luis Lopez
J. Clay Tweel
Beau Bauman
Ross Tuttle
Starring Steve Wiebe
Billy Mitchell
Walter Day
Brian Kuh
Todd Rogers
Steve Sanders
Doris Self
Music by Craig Richey
Cinematography Ross Tuttle
Editing by Jim Bruce
J. Clay Tweel
Distributed by Picturehouse
Dendy Cinemas
Release date(s) United States:
August 17, 2007
Australia:
February 28, 2008
Running time 79 minutes
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a documentary that follows Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion Billy Mitchell. The film premiered January 22, 2007, at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival[1] and has been shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, the TriBeCa Film Festival, the Aspen Comedy Festival, and the Fantasia Film Festival. The film opened in limited release in the United States on August 17, 2007, in 5 theaters, and by September 9, 2007, the film had expanded to 39 theaters in the U.S.[2]

The film's original title was The King of Kong but later received the subtitle A Fistful of Quarters.

A scripted movie adaptation is already in the works. Director Seth Gordon has said that the movie might be a sequel instead of a remake, telling the story of how the documentary changed both men's lives, as well as their continuing rivalry.[3]

The film's DVD release was on January 29, 2008. [4]

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot synopsis

Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day (left) observes Steve Wiebe's game of Donkey Kong.
Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day (left) observes Steve Wiebe's game of Donkey Kong.

Billy Mitchell is the golden boy of Twin Galaxies, an organization formed to keep track of high scores achieved on arcade games in the United States. Having achieved the highest ever recorded scores on Donkey Kong and Centipede in the 1980s, Billy remains a video game legend in 2005: Twin Galaxies-- for which Billy now volunteers as a referee-- has now become a global organization, and in addition to still retaining his Donkey Kong and Centipede records, Billy now also holds a record for performing a perfect game of Pac-Man in July 1999. Billy is unabashedly cocky and fond of self promotion, staging photo shoots of himself with models and proclaiming himself the "Sauce King" of Florida for his successful line of homemade hot sauces. Next to his family, Billy considers his arcade scores his greatest achievments in life.

On the other side of the country, in Redmond, Washington, Boeing employee Steve Wiebe has been laid off, and now spends his time as a stay-at-home dad. His friends and wife, Nicole, describe him as being a savant who never applied his talents: Despite being proficient at music, sports, art, and mathematics, Wiebe has always been content to work mid-level jobs and never strive for any kind of "success." Preparing to get back into the workforce, Wiebe begins going to night school to get a teaching certificate, and obtains a Donkey Kong machine to play in his garage as a pasttime. After reading of Mitchell's world record of 874,300 on the internet, Wiebe uses his math and engineering skills to discover various patterns in the enemy attacks, and is able to formulate a system of playing that helps him achieve a score of 1,006,600 points, besting Mitchell's record. Wiebe submits the tape to Twin Galaxies, and for a few weeks, Wiebe is a local celebrity and news topic as the new world record holder.

However, Mitchell sends his self-styled acolyte, retired banker turned pro-gamer Brian Kuh, to investigate Wiebe's machine. Kuh finds that the machine's circuit board was provided by Roy "Mr. Awesome" Shildt, a self-styled fitness guru and pickup artist who claims to hold the high score for Missile Command. Unbeknownst to Wiebe, Shildt and Mitchell have been nemeses for years ever since Mitchell caused Shildt's high score to to be brought under scrutiny, preventing him from receiving official recognition from Twin Galaxies. Ever since, Shildt has been looking for a way to exact clandestine revenge on Billy. Based on Wiebe's association with Shildt, the staff of Twin Galaxies suspects that Wiebe may have achieved his score dishonestly. Despite having no proof of this, Wiebe's videotaped score is disregarded by Twin Galaxies, and he becomes a pariah in the videogaming community.

In order to clear his name and prove his gaming skills, Wiebe travels to Funspot Arcade in Laconia, NH, to perform a high score live for Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day and other high-ranking members of Twin Galaxies, hoping to confront Billy Mitchell and play head-to-head. Although Mitchell does not initially show, he sends Brian Kuh to observe Wiebe's play. Despite Kuh's attempts to psych out Wiebe, Wiebe achieves a new world record of 985,600 points. On word from Kuh, Mitchell sends a low-quality VHS to Funspot, depicting himself achieving a higher score of 1,047,200 points. Despite Wiebe's protests that his own first score was disqualified for being submitted via unsupervised videotape, Twin Galxies accepts Mitchell's score over Wiebe's and proclaims that Mitchell is still the record holder.

Nine months later, Wiebe learns that the Guinness Book of World Records wants to publish Mitchell's latest score. Wiebe and his family travel to Hollywood, Florida, near Mitchell's home, to challenge him in a public competition, but Mitchell refuses to accept the challenge, and Wiebe fails to surpass a million points. Nevertheless, Walter Day, on behalf of Twin Galxies, finally acknowledges Wiebe's integrity and credibility.

In a coda to the film, Wiebe, in front of the film's documentary crew, achieves the world record of 1,049,100 in his garage.

After the film's completion, Billy Mitchell reclaimed the Donkey Kong world record according to Twin Galaxies, posting a refereed score of 1,050,200.[5]

[edit] Reception

Billy Mitchell in his car in Hollywood, Florida. In the movie, Billy appears to be avoiding Steve, who was in town to get a new Donkey Kong record.
Billy Mitchell in his car in Hollywood, Florida. In the movie, Billy appears to be avoiding Steve, who was in town to get a new Donkey Kong record.

The film was met with positive reviews from critics. As of December 7, 2007, the film had an average score of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 23 reviews.[6] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 82 reviews.[7]

Robert Wilonsky of the Village Voice called the film a "miniature masterpiece"[8] and in August 2007 said it was "[his] favorite movie of the year" up to that point.[9] (Wilonsky eventually chose My Kid Could Paint That as his favorite film of 2007.)[10] Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat gave the film 5 stars and said "It’s not just one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Period."[11] Richard Roeper called it "one of the most fascinating films of the year and it deserves an Oscar nomination for best documentary."[9] Keith Phipps of The Onion AV Club gave the film an "A-" and said at one point it "turns into a film about what it takes to make it in America."[12] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, wondering "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?"[13] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times similarly gave the film 3 stars and called it "a documentary that is beyond strange."[14] Lee Bolton of the classic gaming website Lee's Peek n Poke said that the film is "Laughable, touching and sometimes downright annoying - but brilliant fun!"[citation needed]

Among critics who gave the film negative reviews, Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post said "Is there anything more tiresome than watching people play video games?" and "The competition is so vicious because the stakes are so low."[15] Stephen Garrett of Time Out New York called it "moderately entertaining and ultimately kind of pathetic" and said that the early-1980s arcade subculture is explored better in the documentary Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade.[16]

The Boston Society of Film Critics named it the runner-up for Best Documentary Feature of 2007.[17] The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature of 2007 by the Broadcast Film Critics Association[17]. The film was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature by the Chicago Film Critics Association, but lost to Sicko.[17]

[edit] Top ten lists

The film appeared on a few critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[18]

[edit] Disputed facts

Walter Day of Twin Galaxies believes that the documentary is dishonest in its portrayal of the actual events. In posts on a Twin Galaxies forum entitled "The King of Kong — Official Statement"[19] he contends, among other things, that:

  • In 2000 Tim Sczerby reached a high score of 879,200 points. Steve Wiebe beat both this score and Billy Mitchell's 1982 score. (In response, the film's producers claim that "Tim Sczerby's consistently disputed record was impossible to verify and did not merit inclusion in the film."[20])
  • Billy Mitchell was not always avoiding Steve Wiebe. They met and played together on several occasions before the time period of the film, notably the 2004 Classic Gaming Expo, and they were on very friendly terms — even giving interviews together. In one scene in the film, it is implied that Mitchell drove away from his restaurant when he learned Wiebe was there, but Day contends that in fact Mitchell came in with his whole family and greeted everyone apologetically, including Wiebe.
  • Steve Wiebe actually held the high score record for almost 3 years, and when his videotaped score of 1,006,000 points was rejected, the record actually reverted back to Steve's own previous record — it did not revert to Billy Mitchell's 1982 score as implied by the film.

Day feels that the information presented above "shows that Twin Galaxies did recognize Steve Wiebe's great skills and honor him," and "reveals that Twin Galaxies did not elbow Steve's accomplishment aside so as to protect Billy Mitchell's 874,200 point score."

[edit] Influence

The South Park episode 1109 (#162) "More Crap" is loosely based on The King of Kong.[21] Among other similarities, it includes a scene where a previous world record holder, Bono, sends in an unverified video to steal his challenger's thunder.

Mega64 have loosely based one of their IGN Insider videos on The King of Kong.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The King of Kong - Slamdance Film Festival 2007. Slamdance.com. Retrieved 2007-08-26
  2. ^ The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) - Weekend Box Office. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  3. ^ 'King of Kong' Movie Might Be a Sequel? Nathan Fillion vs Johnny Depp?, Justpressplay.net, Retrieved 2007-08-30
  4. ^ IGN DVD: Trailers, Wallpaper, Pictures, and Reviews
  5. ^ Walter Day (June 26, 2007). Twin Galaxies - Donkey Kong Scores. Twin Galaxies. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  6. ^ King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, The (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-12-07
  7. ^ The King Of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-12-31
  8. ^ Robert Wilonsky (2007-08-14). Tracking Shots: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Village Voice. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  9. ^ a b Ebert & Roeper - August 17, 2007 episode. Ebert & Roeper (2007-08-17). Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  10. ^ Ebert and Roeper
  11. ^ Pete Vonder Haar (2007-08-18). THE KING OF KONG. Film Threat. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  12. ^ Keith Phipps (2007-08-17). The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters. The Onion AV Club. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  13. ^ Peter Travers (2007-08-07). The King of Kong : Review : Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  14. ^ Roger Ebert (2007-08-24). :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  15. ^ Ann Hornaday (2007-08-24). The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  16. ^ Stephen Garrett (August 16–22, 2007). The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Time Out New York Issue 620. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  17. ^ a b c Metacritic: 2007 Film Awards & Nominations. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  18. ^ Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
  19. ^ Walter Day (January 24, 2008). Twin Galaxies Forums - The King of Kong Official Statement. Twin Galaxies. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  20. ^ Seth Gordon and Ed Cunningham. Some frequently asked questions about The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The King of Kong Official Movie Site. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  21. ^ South Park Studios (October 11, 2007). South Park Studios - Recent FAQs. South Park Studios. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.

[edit] External links

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