2007, USA
Documentary, Drama
Donkey Kong is a cruel mistress, and only one player has been able to tame her. Until now.
Gen Xers know well the joys of staying up all night mangling Atari cords or greasing up arcade games at the local pizza pits, but most have moved on to other pursuits. Not the obsessed club of Twin Galaxies, who, over two decades since their genesis, are the official record keepers of archaic electronic games.
Still as geeky and awkward as junior high kids playing Dungeons and Dragons in their parents’ basement, this elite group of gamers maintains a hierarchy of arcade champs, and Billy Mitchell is their king. An arrogant, mulleted mastermind with his own special sauce (when he’s not playing games, he’s running a buffalo wing restaurant), Mitchell proudly rests on his laurels as others clamor for his throne.
“No matter what I say, it draws controversy. It’s sort of like the abortion issue,” Mitchell states with no sense of irony.
Perhaps not quite that heated, but his methods are questionable. When a down-on-his-luck Average Joe decides to challenge Mitchell’s previously unbeatable Donkey Kong score, Mitchell gathers his army and lets them fight for him.
Steve Wiebe has no dreams of annihilation, he simply wants to feel good about something. With dashed dreams of baseball, basketball and a musical career behind him, the out of work family man just wants to achieve this goal. When he triumphantly submits a tape with proof of the newly broken record score, Mitchell’s army assumes foul play.
Honest guy Wiebe lays any questions to rest by heading to the Twin Galaxies headquarters to prove his abilities in person. Mitchell fails to meet the challenge, taking notes from his minions via cell phone with a curiously never-before-seen tape at the ready if he needs it. The man behind the curtain is too cowardly to make an appearance, though he would claim it was because he felt no threat.
Just as most of the subjects are stuck in the 80s, the documentary is infused with the decade. Hero anthems from the arcade age play in the background, most notably The Karate Kid’s “You’re the Best.” A simple graph tracks the Donkey Kong high score record, with galactic images shooting behind it.
It is easy to root for the underdog in this electronic David versus Goliath tale. For every friendly competition Wiebe suggests, Mitchell finds the need to be sneaky and pompous. Like a child, he even avoids a competition blocks from his own home, though Wiebe traveled over 3,000 miles to be there. With friends that liken Wiebe to being a Jedi, it is especially hard for Wiebe to break down the cherished kingdom.
Director Seth Gordon delivers an intriguing tale, simply told but absorbing. Who knew Donkey Kong was the Devil’s game? What else could explain the desire to sell one’s soul to conquer it?