73
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerAt times the film resembles a promo for Shortz and the Times, and the celebrity puzzlers, who include filmmaker Ken Burns, Bill Clinton, and the Indigo Girls, have an unfortunate tendency to bloviate. Not so Jon Stewart, who seems to regard each Times puzzle as an opportunity to go mano a mano with Shortz.
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe film's subjects are almost uniformly likable, self-deprecating, funny, and hyper-verbal, and their peculiar passion for crosswords and the sense of genial camaraderie among buffs proves surprisingly infectious.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThere's more palm-sweating suspense in one minute of this baby than in all of "The Omen."
- 75PremierePremiereUltimately, Wordplay is best enjoyed as an engaging look at a little-known subculture.
- 75New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsIn this documentary, I learn there are people who can solve a Monday New York Times puzzle in less than three minutes - without looking words up! I don't necessarily want to know these people, but they put on a good show at the annual crossword championship in Stamford, Ct., which is the centerpiece of this affectionate, smartly-done promo for puzzling.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterWhile puzzles are not most peoples' lives, they are truly an essential part. Wordplay goes up/down and across on the varied reasons why more than 50 million Americans do a crossword puzzle every week.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangPunsters, linguists and crossword puzzle fanatics everywhere couldn't ask for a more bracing tribute than helmer Patrick Creadon's buoyant and exhilaratingly brainy documentary Wordplay.
- Niceness also takes the edge off Patrick Creadon's otherwise revitalizing documentary.
- 70Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonAnother doc sharing some of its cultural DNA, the spelling-bee melodrama Spellbound, had children, families, social conventions--Creadon's film has only words and people with a little time to waste.
- 60Film ThreatEric CamposFilm ThreatEric CamposWordplay is...well...just about as exciting as a feature length movie about people solving crossword puzzles can be. Not very.