The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Here’s one of those unfolding documentaries where unforeseen events and deeds make the subject more appealing than even the filmmaker expected. The activity circles around the retro ’80s video arcade game "Donkey Kong," wherein construction worker Mario attempts to rescue a woman from King Kong atop a high construction site. In 1982, a young man named Billy Mitchell broke the world record on "Donkey Kong" (he scored 874,300 points) at a public competition. Now, 25-years later Billy is a cheesy, mullet-sporting, hot sauce entrepreneur who worries that his video game crown will be knocked off by one Steve Wiebe (pronounced wee bee), a good natured family man and science teacher from Redmond, Washington. Hope, pride, personal identity and an air of fierce competition underlie the enjoyable action. Many laughs are generously afforded at the expense of Billy Mitchell, arguably the most ridiculous human being on the planet.

Rated PG-13, 79 mins. (B+) (Four Stars)