Nerds, crosswords and an IU grad

If you're looking for an exciting way to spend a weekend night, I suggest watching a documentary about crossword puzzles. Seriously. \nDirected by Patrick Creadon, "Wordplay" is a behind-the-scenes look at the masterminds of The New York Times' crossword puzzle and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Creadon does the best thing he can to actually make this movie interesting: He tells the stories of the people involved. \nCreadon focuses on the editor of the Times crossword Will Shortz, who is originally from Crawfordsville, Ind. and graduated from IU with a degree in enigmatology (the study of puzzles). Shortz presides over the toughest crossword in the country at the Times. \nA large portion of the beginning is Creadon going around and talking to famous people who do the Times crossword on a daily basis. \nJon Stewart challenges Shortz to make the puzzle harder. Former President Bill Clinton, Senator Bob Dole and Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina each chime in about how much they enjoy the puzzle. \nThe latter part of the film is centered on the best crossword puzzlers in the country as they prepare for and compete in the national championships. \nMost of the people competing in the tournament are just, well, weird. They range from your everyday businessman to people on the verge of Trekkie status. \nNo matter how bizarre, the people make the movie. As the tournament came to a close, I actually rooted for the eventual winner and felt awful for the guy who blew his chance at victory. \nThe DVD special features add a lot to the content. There's commentary from Creadon and Shortz, extra interviews, plenty of deleted scenes and five of Shortz's best crosswords included. \nCreadon created a lens into a place about which not many people know. Obscurity of subject makes a good film, even when it's about nerds doing crosswords.