We want to keep things interesting and interactive here at the Back Talk Blog, but we also aim to keep it local. So there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes discussion regarding what is and is NOT appropriate to bring up in the blogosphere. Yesterday, much to my bliss, we got the go ahead to include a certain amount of pop culture content. So now, when I watch a movie or see a show I can then provide a service to our readers by voicing my opinion on said entertainment experience. (Come on, we all need a break from development, zoning and real estate every now and then.)
I just happened to see a great and little-known documentary during a two-hour break from following the primaries tonight, that is necessary viewing for anyone who was a kid, had a kid or acted like one, during the 80s. It’s called King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and it’s set in the glory days of video games: We’re talking Pac Man, Centipede, and Donkey Kong.
The movie follows a too-good to-be true character, Billy Mitchell, the reigning Donkey Kong champion since 1982. A mullet-headed, pink-tie-wearing, and overly bearded Mitchell (just begging to be played by Will Ferrell in some future feature) is a demigod to the video game community and a legend in his own mind. But 25 years after Mitchell set the record, a suburban dad gets laid off from his factory job and decides he’s going to spend some of his newfound spare time becoming the best darn Donkey Kong player in the world (which as you can imagine makes his wife oh so proud).
The ensuing story, complete with soundtrack borrowed from Rocky and the Karate Kid, is enchanting. It is sweet, nostalgic and thoroughly entertaining and you can even get it at Blockbuster (there were two copies at the Casa Linda location).
