'Wordplay' captures the fun, camaraderie of crosswords

Here's a puzzle for you: What do President Bill Clinton, filmmaker Ken Burns, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, comedian Jon Stewart and The Indigo Girls have in common?

Answer: They are all avid solvers of crossword puzzles, particularly those in The New York Times, edited by Will Shortz. And they all wax philosophically on this addictive, yet harmless preoccupation in the entertaining new documentary, Wordplay.

IFC Films 'Wordplay' A The verdict: Involving look at crossword puzzle lore, leading to a suspenseful national tournament. Director: Patrick Creadon Cast: Will Shortz, Merl Reagle, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Indigo Girls Run time: 84 minutes Release date: June 16, 2006 Rating: PG for mild language. See showtimes Puzzle Potentate Meet Will Shortz, editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle and NPR Puzzle Master. On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Wordplay'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Director Patrick Creadon effectively exhausts the subject of the history, lore, construction and deconstruction of crosswords before focusing on the annual solvers' tournament in Stamford, Conn. While not quite the nail-biting experience of Spellbound, the Oscar-nominated spelling bee film, Wordplay does, however, involve us in the quirks, obsessions and competitive drive of the nerdy contestants.

Although the film began as a profile of Shortz — who majored at Indiana University in enigmatology, a curriculum (and word) he created to allow himself to study crosswords and related puzzles — it broadened in the making to a celebration of verbal dexterity and an extended product plug for The Times.

Surely it helps if you are drawn to solving crosswords, but Creadon has little difficulty sustaining interest over the film's hour-and-a-half length, largely because he emphasizes the people, not the puzzles. Of the celebrities interviewed, Clinton insists that working a crossword puzzle is like solving a thorny political problem, and he is particularly taken with a puzzle the Times ran on Election Day, 1996, that predicted the next president. Sort of. The Indigos compare doing a puzzle to writing song lyrics, Burns liken puzzle grids to urban architecture, and Stewart turns his effort to fill in the white squares into a one-way diatribe with the absent Shortz.

The main event, though, is the 28th annual Stamford solve-in, a weekend-long competition among like-minded word fiends who think of it as a yearly reunion and camp retreat.

As with Spellbound, Wordplay provides mini-biographies to get us invested in the fate of such veterans as nervous past winner Ellen Ripstein, perennial bridesmaid runner-up Al Sanders, rehearsal pianist Jon Delfin, South Floridian and spontaneous anagrammer Trip Payne, as well as baby-faced engineering school student Tyler Hinman.

Maybe first-time feature documentary maker Creadon just lucked out, but the tournament has a terrific thrill-of-victory, heartbreak-of-defeat dramatic conclusion that could not be scripted better. And thanks to an interactive graphic display technique, moviegoers are able to play along with the contestants if they wish.

Regardless of your experience level, you will probably not look at a crossword puzzle in the same way after seeing Wordplay, and that is the very definition of a worthy documentary. The only downside of the movie is it will probably cause so many people to head to Stamford next year, the tournament may become a victim of the film's success.