Written by Linda
April 11, 2009
Who knew that a showdown between two guys that literally sit on stools, glassy-eyed, toggling joysticks could be so gripping?
Anyone who came of age in the early-80s probably still feels an uncontrollable shudder of delight when they hear the all-too-familiar "wakka-wakka-wakka" sound of classic Pac-Man chomping his way through a maze. You may remember the days of having a pocket full of quarters (or at least wishing you did) and heading to the local mall or arcade to try your hand at one of those huge stand-up video games. Now, I know these places and games still exist, but those first few years that video games were around, they truly were a cultural phemonenon. In 1982, a group of "champion" video game players, each of whom was the master of a particular game like Ms. Pac-Man or Centipede, were pictured in an iconic photo in LIFE magazine. One of these teenage boys (yes, they were all boys) was 17-year-old Billy Mitchell of Florida, who achieved a Donkey Kong record score of 874,300 points.
Fast forward to 2005. It has been over 20 years, and Billy Mitchell's seemingly untouchable record has stood the test of time. Zoom in to Redmond, Washington: 35-year-old suburban dad and seemingly all-around nice guy Steve Wiebe is playing his own Donkey Kong machine in his garage. He Googles the record score out of curiosity, and says to himself, "Heck, I can beat that!" Thus begins the showdown between two thirty-something master video game players, as they circle each other (but never face off), obliterating each other's high scores until only one man is left standing.
It's a good thing The King of Kong is a documentary, because honestly a fictionalized version couldn't be any funnier or more fascinating. Who knew that there is a well-respected organization called Twin Galaxies (founded in 1982) that tracked record gaming scores, and is the official last word on whether a score stands? Who knew that there are guys who watch video tapes of game screens for hours on end, who decide that a player has stuck to the rules, and not achieved his score by any shifty means? Who knew that a showdown between two guys that literally sit on stools, glassy-eyed, toggling joysticks could be so gripping?
The King of Kong is an enormously entertaining documentary that is quite often laugh-out-loud funny (probably much to the chagrin of a very serious, very self-involved modern-day Billy Mitchell). Mitchell, with his neat wardrobe, patriotic ties, groomed beard, and carefully kempt long black hair even has the appearance of a Dark Knight, whereas Wiebe is a little soft around the edges, is married to his super-supportive and encouraging high school sweetheart, and has a couple kids that offer their own hilarious one-liners. One man is still basking in his glory days, while another is so close to finally, truly succeeding in something. The struggle between the two follows the pattern of any classic David and Goliath-type story.
And if the suspense of the film—down to the revelation in closing credits—isn't enough... the two video-game Jedi are still jousting for top position as we speak. Even after the film was completed, one of the men has, yet again, broken the others' record. I won't tell you who, because I'm sure his counterpart is already on his way to shattering it!
