Please don't spend money on this.

How sad is this?

Best movie ever!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This film is about a small group of professional Scrabble players. Well, professional in that they play in tournaments for money and occasionally play each other for money, though the money they actually win is almost always minimal--certainly in most cases NOT enough to pay rent or have a family. Despite this very limited payoff, these folks travel the country participating in very, very serious games--at least as serious as any high-stakes poker game! As a psychology teacher, I probably got a lot more out of this documentary than the average person. That's because instead of focusing on the games, I was fascinated by the personalities of the players, as the elite players were NOTHING like I'd expected. I had expected that they would all be great intellectuals--such as professors, Nobel Prize winners and brainiacs. However, the opposite was usually the case. Many were unemployed or worked dead-end jobs. None of them were successful in a traditional sense with jobs or family. Instead, the players were usually misfits--people lacking social graces, having severe personality disorders, filled with anger and in a few cases the players seemed on the edge of sanity. How this game dominates their lives and thinking is amazing and all-consuming--and it's truly an obsession. For the most part, I found the players to be very unlikable (especially, but certainly NOT excluding Marlon) and lacking a fully formed personality--and, interestingly enough, this didn't seem to bother these hyper-competitive players. I was also surprised to see that many didn't even seem to like the game--and one, in particular, was physically miserable during the tournaments! Yet they still played--day in and day out even though there was almost no financial compensation for doing this--even with the top players!! Fascinating, but also ultimately very sad.By the way, the language is pretty rough in spots--parents might want to think about this before letting kids watch this documentary.

Films are won and lost in the editing room. This fact is even more apparent with documentaries. I think the subject is amusing, but the film does not have the suspense of the spelling bee doc "Spellbound" nor does it capture the humor of those who are ultra-obsessive about their hobby as well as "Barbie Nation." I think better editing would have raised the quality of this film. And, there is too much emphasis on Stephan Fatsis. I think there could have been more interviews with neutral observers, such as hometown reporters who have covered the respective subjects. The film does however show a degree of objectivity, which at times had to be a challenge given the overwhelmingly ridiculous lifestyles of those in the film. I think the bigger question, which was better addressed in "Barbie Nation," is what drives this obsession? Is the nature of our commercial society, that some people will just never know when to 'say when?' On the other hand, one must also admire the determination of the subjects to achieve what they have. In the most competitive country in the world, perhaps there is no other way to win!

Anyone who has enjoyed a game of Scrabble will enjoy this movie. The Scrabble champions depicted in the movie (real people, not actors) play a game unlike any you're likely to find in the family living room. Words you've never heard of are so common in their games that you almost want to have a dictionary by your side while viewing the film. The only thing stranger than the words are the contenders themselves. "Neurotic", "self-centered", and "compulsive" are a few of the words that can be used to describe them. But, you can't help but watch them--kinda like watching a train wreck in some ways.If you are in the category of "Scrabble enjoyers", you will also like the book "Word Freak" by Stefan Fatsis (the book, in fact, is the genesis for the idea of the film).

This film is without a doubt the best Scrabble® Documentary film yet made. The story follows the efforts of four very different top-level Scrabble® players in their attempt to win the title of 2002 National Scrabble Champion. The directors highlight the disparate backgrounds and approaches to the game of the four principles, from the Tai Chi of 3 time champion Joe Edley to the mind-enhancing pharmaceuticals of Matt Graham. The film uses engaging graphics to explain how Scrabble® is played at the pro-level, and to highlight brilliant plays and anagrams. The audience gets a chance to "play along" with many plays of the main characters and many others on the tournament circuit. In addition, the story takes a foray into the subculture of "the parkies", the serious Scrabble®-playing denizens of Washington Square Park, NYC, and the history of the controversy that created the two dictionaries in use for Scrabble® today, one for the tournament players, and one for the general public.By focusing on the people and not history of the game, Word Wars shows the tournament Scrabble® scene at its most human.