THE KING OF KONG (2007)
Comedy documentary telling the story of Steve Weibe’s battle for the world record of high score ever achieved in Donkey Kong. Weibe successfully achieves the highest score only to find that Billy Mitchell, the reigning Donkey Kong champion, happens to also be the one in charge of recognizing and dismissing scores. Weibe is accused of tampering with his home game machine. So he’s forced to battle these corrupt gamers face to face and achieve the same score again…live. And in the process, he battle his confused, unsupportive, and exasperated family and faces his own feelings of despair and low self-worth.
I have little interest in video games. Yet the beauty of this documentary elevates the battle over Donkey Kong scores to feeling like a battle for justice and meaning in a bleak and corrupt world. Billy Mitchell is one of the most nuances and moving villains to ever appear in a movie. No writer could have created such an amazing character. This movie is hilarious, yet I cry my brains out.
