King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Donkey Kong is a rite of passage for American youth. Who hasn't spent hours in a pizza joint, bent over a Donkey Kong cocktail table game, going for the new high score while your slice of pepperoni gets cold and the grease coagulates into a mess even more disgusting than the scent of a person who's played DK for 3 days straight without showering?

Sometimes dodging virtual barrels and climbing to the top of the screen is just more important than eating, bathing, or pretty much anything else in life. This is especially true for people like Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, who clashed in 2006 over Mitchell's all-time high score in Donkey Kong. Wiebe broke Mitchell's record, but did so on a home-based console, rendering the accomplishment unofficial. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters follows Mitchell and Wiebe through the ups and downs of barrel evasion, joystick manipulation (heh heh heh), ape emulation, and general Donkey Kong madness. Directed by Seth Gordon, the film features both old-school and present-day footage of Billy Mitchell's excellent variations on the mullet (his sometimes-disturbing facial hair receives thorough coverage as well), in addition to commentary from expert videogamers and the record-breakers' beleaguered wives. King of Kong is a seriously wild ride through the world of hardcore video gaming.

Perhaps best of all, the Alamo Drafthouse is coming through for us with a Donkey Kong tournament before the showing of King of Kong on Sunday, August 19 at 7:30 p.m. After an involved quest to find a wonderful, working Donkey Kong machine, the Alamo organizers were finally able to plan the ultimate DK tourney, in which first prize is the ultimate Donkey Kong machine--awarded to the winner by Steve Wiebe, holder of the disputed Donkey Kong title.

You know you loved Donkey Kong as a kid, and you know you've been longing to play it for years (or better yet, you have been playing for years, and are totally tournament-ready). Suit up in some Nintendo gear (okay, maybe not...), sign up for the tourney, and see if you can get even a quarter of the current record 1,050,200 points. And even if you don't think your skills are up to par, the movie's worth checking out for Billy Mitchell's stylistic choices alone. Mullets, Donkey Kong, and dorks--there's never been a more holy trinity.

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Sunday, August 19th
Alamo South Lamar
7:30 p.m.
[Tickets]

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By Kerry Skemp in Arts & Entertainment on August 13, 2007 2:00 PM 0 Comments

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guest

It isn't the most important thing in the world, but it is common courtesy to not tell what happens at the end of a movie. Especially in an ad for that movie. Just like it also is common courtesy to not get angry at the person who pointed out something to you, that obviously was important enough that you felt it needed to be changed. So maybe bitching at that person isn't the best move either.

*dumps feed*

Kerry Skemp

i edited the entry so it doesn't give away what happens. note that the alamo website ruins the end as well, so you shouldn't click the link for tickets (or any other link in the post, for that matter) if you'll cry about learning who comes out on top. because, you know, nothing in the world matters more than a donkey kong record.