The Players

The appearances of various celebrities keeps things interesting, as they reflect on why they do the crosswords everyday: Stewart is hilarious, Mussina is an unexpected solver, and throw the Indigo Girls in to the mix and you’ve got a nice little assortment.

However, the most intriguing element of the movie is delving into the lives’ of the contestants. All are self-professed nerds who you find yourself rooting for in the tournament. You get to know their families, careers, passions, and personal reasons for being avid about the Times crosswords. It’s impressive to watch their minds go to work as they time themselves in puzzle solving, and are disappointed when they fail to beat two minutes.

The film manages to bring these geniuses – who all claim that it is only useless information they have absorbed over the years – back to normalcy when they run to a dictionary to look up words even they never heard of.

When the big day finally arrives, the joyous meetings of old friends are heartwarming. Songs are sung, hugs are given, and communal crossword stories are exchanged. The director does a great job of capturing and conveying the passion an outsider may find a bit odd.           

Click here to spoil the movie's ending.