Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here, fresh off a triumphant screening of this film here in the Windy City this past Tuesday with a packed house and incredibly enthusiastic crowd. Thanks everyone for coming and being so great.

Just the other day, I was trying to explain to someone how truly awesome this film is, and their response surprised me, even though it shouldn't have. "So, why should I care about watching two guys playing video games?" Fair enough, and if this were a film that did nothing more than show us two guys playing video games (the game in question is the classic arcade game Donkey Kong), it's unlikely I wouldn't pay money to see it. But in the case of THE KING OF KONG, the two guys happen to be the two best players the world has ever seen. Even so, why should you care? It's simple. The way this film is structured, the way its subject are portrayed, and the way the rivalry between these two men plays out exemplifies high drama at its finest. It also brings back every memory I ever had as a kid playing these games, the frustration of trying to top whatever the high score was on a given machine, and the run-ins I'd have with guys (and it was always guys, never girls) who took game playing about as seriously as anything in life.

The King of Kong has heroes, villains and those that tread the fine line between lackey and ally. The film begins in the early '80s, the hey-day of video games, when Life magazine took a group photo of some of the top players in the world, including one Billy Mitchell, who was named "Gamer of the Year" thanks to his record high score on Donkey Kong (among others). Mitchell sounds like he's always been a cocky S.O.B., but one who turned his positive self-attitude into a successful hot sauce and restaurant business. He also has a mullet that could destroy worlds.

Cut to 2003, when a kindly family man named Steve Wiebe of Washington state discovered that the world record score for the game he loved and owned was well within his reach. And one fateful day in his garage, he shattered Mitchell's score and videotaped the whole game (a tape of a record-breaking game is permissible by rules established by Twin Galaxies, the keeper of such records). But Wiebe was an unknown to the gaming community, and he was backed by a man who was considered a real shit-stirrer (although Wiebe had no knowledge of this going into the submittal process) and enemy of Mitchell and Twin Galaxies. Ultimately Wiebe's score is disqualified on a technicality, but it inspired him to prove his abilities in an indisputable fashion. Mitchell, his reputation and legacy on the line, instantly began hating Steve Wiebe.

The film tracks Wiebe's journey and Mitchell's plans to thwart his plans and mess with his head. You couldn't write the shit that happens from this point on. Much of the behavior (especially on the part of Mitchell and his cronies) is straight out of high school. That being said, I was surprised how un-villain-like Mitchell really is. He wants you to think of him as a confident, scheming champion, but the guy doesn't have the balls to fill the role of villain or champion. He seems afraid to even be in the same room with Wiebe, and while videotapes are acceptable to some, it is curious that Wiebe goes out of his way to play most of his record-breaking games in front of an audience, while Mitchell silently submits tapes and then calls his people to find out what the reaction is. He's not the kind of bad guy you want to see dead, but you wouldn't mind bitch-slapping him a few dozen times just to wipe the cocky off his face.

There's something of a third lead in THE KING OF KONG, who is certainly worth mentioning. Walter Day, a man who wears a referee's shirt and maintains Twin Galaxies' record books. He's friends with Mitchell, but he knows right from wrong and good gamesmanship from bad. He seems particularly put off that Mitchell refuses to take on Wiebe head to head, and his opinion of Wiebe takes a much-deserved turn during the course of the film. He's just as fascinating a man as the two gamers, and you can't help but get excited for him and his organization when he gets the call from Guinness World Records that they want Twin Galaxies to be the official submitter of record scores to its book.

There isn't a dull moment or person in THE KING OF KONG. The film is as much a tribute to grown men who haven't completely grown up (self included) as it is a salute to families, competitive spirit (or lack thereof), perseverance, dreams and evil mullets. This is a film that honors the geek in all of us and turning our obsessions into careers. I love this movie with all my heart and twisted soul, and would love to one day personally thank director Seth Gordon for finding this story and telling it so well.

Capone