Wordplay
  • Release Date: Jun 16, 2006
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Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Will Shortz
  • Summary: Wordplay focuses on the man most associated with crossword puzzles, New York Times puzzle editor and NPR Puzzle Master Will Shortz. Director Patrick Creadon introduces us to this passionate hero, as well as to the inner workings of his brilliant and often hilarious contributors and many celebrity crossword puzzlers. (IFC Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    91
    Near letter-perfect.
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    80
    This film is as smart and funny as its topic and its stars.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Phillip Lopate
    80
    Whatever the documentary's flaws, the filmmakers should be saluted for giving us a rare glimpse of life in these trenches.
  4. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Eric Campos
    60
    Wordplay is...well...just about as exciting as a feature length movie about people solving crossword puzzles can be. Not very.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. SusanM.
    10
    Very funny even if you don't do crosswords!
  2. LdH.
    9
    It's puzzling that such an entertaining movie should have such a small audience.
  3. JS
    8
    Very engaging. At times, I wasn't sure whether I was watching a documentary or a Christopher Guest spoof of one. Suspense, laughter, and genuine affection. All that, plus Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton (both, like most of the people in this film, lefties -- in the handedness sense).… Expand
  4. JimG.
    6
    An engaging documentary with a deft, if unquestioning, touch for its subjects. Somehow, for some reason (don't ask me why), I was hoping for something more substantive. I felt entertained by the film, but didn't come away with any new knowledge or new questions. So as entertainment, it was fun. As documentary, it was, well, just another story. The filmmakers pretty much take everything at face value swallowing, unchallenged, assertions that the New York Times is the greatest newspaper in the world and bastian of the crossword puzzle. Would have been nice to have some substance--perhaps some factual history of the crossword puzzle or probing why the fan base (mostly white, mostly male) is so homogenous. Overall, it is clear from the film that crossword fans enjoy a special community and are having lots of fun.… Expand

See all 6 User Reviews

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