Gamers

This is absolutely not a terrible movie but you do need to be somewhat of a tabletop RPG fan. Further it helps if you have been around RPG enthusiasts, to help understand some of the social stigma that goes along with. The jokes are a bit goofy and some are just downright idiotic but you will laugh if you let yourself.

I gave it a 6 out of 10, a vote it deserves. Its not a carefully edited comedy, written by an army of comedy writers. Its a B film comedy produced for a niche market. Take it for what it is. There are some wonderful appearances by classic 80s actors and actresses. My gaming group and i have probably watched it three times together.

I picked up this movie in the hope it would be similar to the hilarious "The Gamers" by Dead Gentlemen Productions (which is highly recommendable, by the way). Boy, what a disappointment! The movie is shot in this fake documentary style made famous by the office but it fails to deliver. The reason is partly the stiff acting but mostly the writing and directing. True, it can be funny to use every singe cliché there is about role playing games, but here it is done in such a way that it becomes extremely predictable. Already at the beginning of each scene you know what the "joke" will be about. But maybe the biggest problem is that everything is depicted way over the top. There is no subtlety in this movie, if there would be captions "LAUGH NOW" or a cheap 80s-style fake-laughter track it would not make much difference. With some scenes you can't help to think "Yea, I get why they thought this would be funny" but the way it is executed takes all momentum out of the possible joke.

As a gamer, I can't say I like this film. Fact is, I down right hate it. I tried to watch it as open minded as possible, but when it gets down to it, it feels rather insulting to my social group.

To me, there are several reasons why.

1. The characters seem unnatural. I've met lots of players, of all different walks of life. I don't know any who act like any of the characters in the film. It's like the producers of the film have taken the worst aspects of the worst stereotypes and put them all into 5 people. Most gamers are rather social people, some with rather active lives.

2. The style doesn't work. The mockumentary style is ill suited to the subject matter of the film. An actual documentary on gamers would actually work better. While it is good looking (I.E. cleanly put together), it isn't very good.

3. The dialogue feels forced, unnatural. It also seems to lack any real world context. Gamers swear, I'll admit that, but we don't have Tourette's Syndrome.

4. The humor is lacking. While self-deprecating humor is a mainstay of my group and several other groups I've encountered, this is less self-deprecation, and more like toilet humor. Likewise, a large part of gamer humor is full of in-jokes and anecdotes, not toilet humor. Most gamers would balk at and shun anybody who made such jokes.

5. The biggest problem to me is basically this: Accuracy. I don't mean rules, but instead dynamics. Invariably, this film is going to be compared to the even lower budget films The Gamers and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, both of which portray the players as actual people playing an actual game. The difference is, Gamers: The Movie presents a situation where you want to beat the players senseless vs. The Gamers, where you can say something like: "Huh, I know a guy like that... Yep, that's definitely like Gary."

Yea, this movie is one of those that you have to have in your DVD collection. Listen up ... if you liked Office Space ... then stop what you are doing and get this DVD ... BUY IT and you will want to watch this over and over again. FUNNY as all get out. You will laugh so hard, beer will come out your nose. I never laughed so hard at a film when you get a group of guys together (nerd fest) and place in some crack humor ... good times. William Katt couldn't be any cooler then when he gives his "The sucks all on you" speech. Reese .. oh my God .. Reese ... this guy will have you calling your ex-girlfriend over the phone and ... well, you'll just have to see it. This movie is 5 out of 5 stars, 2 thumbs up ... way the frig up.

butterfingers

Wow! I saw the first screening of this movie and think it's amazing! I can't wait to see it again! Writer/director Christopher Folino has brought the seemingly underground world of RPG gaming mainstream. No need for any previous knowledge of the subject - This movie will thoroughly entertain everybody from those who have never even heard of role playing games all the way to the Dungeon Masters.

Did I mention it's absolutely hilarious!!!? Not just funny, but choking on your popcorn and spraying Dr. Pepper out your nose kinda funny! Gamers pushes the envelope as far as what some sensitive viewers may find offensive, but Folino and company found a way to make the audience laugh so hard at it that nobody cared. I was worried the funniest parts might have been used up in the preview... Well if that were the case, the preview would have to be 83 minutes long!

I could have sworn this movie was typecast. But I checked it out and these are real actors with REAL resume's. Most indie films aren't acted this well. If I were to knock anything I might suggest washing the windows on the cars for those scenes (even if it IS a "mockumentary" style film) and it needs a couple of minor audio fixes.

Outside of that, I thought it was funnier than anything I've seen, including the blockbusters The 40 Year Old Virgin and Wedding Crashers both - only with no dead spots for you to leave and use the bathroom. You're likely to already have peed your pants by then anyhow!

~Tom

P.S. I had no part in the making of this movie and gain nothing, financially or otherwise, for writing this. It is truly a great film!