Back in the early 1980’s, a young man named Billy Mitchell set the world record high score of over 874,000 points in the arcade video game Donkey Kong. That record held for over two decades, until Steve Wiebe, an unemployed married father of two, beat that score with over a million total points. What happened next was an incredibly heated rivalry that was documented in this film, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

Billy Mitchell is a kind of odd looking guy with long hair and a beard that makes him look like some kind of easy listening musician from the 1980’s. Since making a name for himself in the video game world, he went on to open several restaurants and start his own hot sauce company, so he’s actually a pretty successful guy. Through his interviews in this movie, you can tell that he’s very business-driven and enjoys competition. He likes to be the best at what he does, and that includes video games. He’s also just a little bit full of himself, which makes him the villain of this story.

Steve Wiebe is a very average fellow whose life hasn’t turned out the way he planned. Despite having a pretty and supportive wife, plus two healthy kids, his professional life hasn’t been very successful. The movie talks about how his athletic dreams were shot down early on in life, then later he was laid off from Boeing. His wife seems pretty worried that Steve might be on the brink of a nervous breakdown. When Steve starts playing Donkey Kong as a way of distracting himself from his problems, he sort of randomly decides to put his video game skills to the test and beat Mitchell’s high score.

When Wiebe finally beats Mitchell’s score, the tight gaming community that has long rallied behind Mitchell suddenly behaved like hens with a fox lurking outside the henhouse. Mitchell’s closest groupies took it very personal that someone would dare challenge Mitchell’s skills, much less beat his long-standing high score. It was as if someone had attacked their dear Billy. Charges of cheating and hacked hardware immediately abound, so Steve Wiebe sets out to prove his skills at an annual video game competition, and he challenges Billy Mitchell to a Donkey Kong duel.

When you see this movie, it’s so over the top that you almost believe it is a mockumentary instead of a documentary. Are these people for real? Yes, they are! Even the nerdiest most eccentric of the bunch are real folks who are truly obsessed with classic video games, and Billy Mitchell is their idol. The different people, personalities, and settings captured in this movie are pure magic, and it’s even more entertaining when you realize how seriously these people take their gaming.

If you remember the days of the early to mid 1980’s when arcades were all the rage, then you will really get a kick out of this movie. Even if you weren’t into video games, I think anyone can appreciate the real human drama that is documented here. Some people might think all this fuss over a video game score is quite ridiculous, but these people take it so seriously that they are entertaining to watch. The King of Kong is nerd warfare at its best!


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older