MartinHafer 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.

mbnx 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).

todbrody1 I loved this movie. Though I confess to being somewhat of a word geek, I saw it with someone who has no relationship with the game whatsoever, and she too enjoyed it immensely. It's a fond, humorous look at a world that's much weirder than anyone, even aficionados, ever suspected. The people who rise to the top of this crowd are seriously disturbed people, and the movie, with its clever graphic commentary and often just letting the camera run on something, captures this beautifully. One of the most amusing scenes shows Hasbro executives as they recount the wars over dirty words in Scrabble. We were fascinated by this film, and we laughed a lot.

waiverwirepicks12 I was one of the lucky few people to see WORD WARS at the 2004 Sundance Documentary Film Festival. Besides being a huge fan of documentary film, who hasn't played Scrabble once in their lives?WORD WARS follows the lives (but I use that term loosely as you will see) of 4 top Scrabble players as they head to the National Scrabble Championships in San Diego, CA. To become a top Scrabble player, you pretty much have to give up all semblance of a normal lifestyle. >From shots of players practicing while driving, to the rooms filled with piles of books, the film gives a detailed, but humourous, look into these player's Scrabble obsessions.My favorite character was Marlon Hill - the dude from the rough part of Baltimore, who waxes poetic on the injustices heaved upon the African-American community, while smoking a ton of pot, ALL while destroying his competition. From the tight editing, excellent cinematography, and great use of The Beatles "Across the Universe", WORD WARS will leave you scrambling for more. Even if you have never played a game of Scrabble in your life - and who hasn't - this film is thoroughly enjoyable!