Gamers
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   566 of 1159 readers found this review helpful.

If seeing “2d10” or “WIS+1” means anything to you, stop reading right now and go get a copy of “Gamers”. Trust me on this one.


Alright, now that all the paper & pencil gaming nerds are gone…I have a confession to make – I too was once a D&D player (creatively called “DND” in “Gamers”) and could have very easily ended up as any one of the main characters in the flick…grown men still spending their evenings rolling dice and pretending to be heroes in a mythical realm.


The heroes of our story are on the cusp of making role playing history, as they prepare to enter the record books by logging 23 years playing together. They’ve sacrificed a lot to get to this point, including careers, economic freedom, and interaction with the fairer sex. But it’s all worth it to get to the top of the geek heap, right?


Right?


As their goal gets closer, we learn that their hyperfocus on their game is causing a lot of undue tension between them and the real world. Are they willing to give up a modicum of normalcy just to become the biggest nerds in the world? In their immediate circle, and the gaming world in general, their accomplishments are a badge of honor, but are a social stigma to the rest of us. Our society puts so much value on physical attributes that most cerebral pastimes aren’t given the credit they perhaps are due.


Try your local bar for example…a victorious softball team full of middle-aged guys with receding hairlines and beerguts will be surrounded by pretty young nymphs…but if a championship chess team or reigning Halo clan came in to show off the spoils of their victories, they’d be drinking alone.


This was the depressing facet of “Gamers”…but also the root of the comedy. The mockumentary being produced in the film concerning the lovable goofs shines a pretty harsh light on their lifestyle, but also made for a damned funny movie.


I wanted to send the gamers packing earlier in the review because I know they’ll love this flick, but for those of you still with me, you’ll get a kick out of it too. It’s sort of a darker version of “Revenge of the Nerds” or the recent “Benchwarmers” without the huge heartwarming victory over the jocks at the end. These guys don’t have to come to terms with getting picked on, they have to come to terms with sequestering themselves from the real world – pretending greatness instead of trying to achieve it.


There’s a certain level of pity you feel for them, but only within the context of the world around them. When they’re at the table playing, they truly are great warriors, crafty thieves and wise magic-users…but once out of the garage, they’re socially inept.


“Gamers” doesn’t dwell on the semantics of the game itself too much, so it’s very approachable by just about any viewer. So even if you’ve never coveted a helmet that makes you heal yourself, there’s still plenty of comedy here for you (the “White Wizard” scenes had me laughing my ass off).


With so little to chuckle about on the big screen lately, I highly recommend getting a copy of “Gamers”. It’s somewhat dark and downright cruel, but it’s also freekin’ hilarious. A solid 4 ½ cans out of 5.

Added:  Monday, October 02, 2006

Related Link:  Official site
Language: eng[ Did you find this review helpful?  Yes  No ]
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