Documentary will fascinate puzzle buffs

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 22, 2006

Midway through “Wordplay” there’s a wonderful sequence where we peer over the shoulder of master crossword puzzle-maker Merl Reagle and watch him assemble a puzzle from scratch.

If this sounds like the most boring thing imaginable, then “Wordplay” is probably not for you. But for anybody who can’t flip past the crossword in the newspaper in the morning, it will be more riveting than any “Fast and the Furious” picture.

“Wordplay” goes into the world of New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz, meets a group of “solvers” (some famous, some not), and climaxes with a chronicle of the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Conn.

In the latter bit, “Wordplay” is obviously modeled after the success of “Spellbound,” which did the same thing for spelling bees. But guess what? The formula works. This is an enormously entertaining movie.

Among the celebrities confessing to crossword addiction are Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show,” filmmaker Ken Burns, the Yankees’ Mike Mussina and the Indigo Girls.

Former President Bill Clinton is in typically gabby form, and both he and Bob Dole discuss a legendary crossword puzzle that appeared the day of the 1996 election, when one particular line in the puzzle could have been filled by either CLINTON or BOBDOLE. Each surrounding clue had two possible answers, and the outcome depended upon which man won the election.

More to the point, we meet a collection of puzzle enthusiasts from around the country, each of whom is a regular at the annual tournament. These folks may be a little nerdy around the edges, but they seem like an uncommonly bright, likable bunch. And watching them rip through a daily puzzle in two minutes makes one want to reach for the paper and start the egg timer.

The tournament is great fun, with the kind of excited social babble that comes with people who share a single obsessive interest. (Of course film enthusiasts aren’t like this at all. Ahem.) The drama of the final rounds is such that you may be surprised to find out how much you’re invested in the competition.

Tournament master and New York Times crossword guru Will Shortz doesn’t emerge as a colorful personality, exactly; Reagle is a somewhat quirkier character. But Shortz is the fittingly still center for this kooky movie, and one feels the gold standard of crosswords is in good hands.

Will Shortz and the crossword puzzle life are profiled in “Wordplay.”