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I had never heard of Crocs until I visited family over the 4th of July weekend. Turns out that in the two years since I last saw her my mother has adopted them as pretty much the only footwear she wears. They're hideous and remind me of the jelly sandals that were so popular among girls back in the '70s and once caused me to catch the backyard on fire.
Anyway, on the topic of movies. Lani and I drove up to the city last yesterday and saw the new crossword documentary Word Play. It is a lot of fun and well put together. It is built around the 2005 Crossword Championship in Stamford, CT, but does a good job of screen graphics, music, and editing to keep you involved during those times you're essentially watching a crowd of people do a crossword puzzle.
Near the end is a surprising bit of human drama that will have even the most competition averse people cringing in sympathy.
In terms of the mood it created I was reminded a lot of a documentary from 1997 called Hands on the Hard Body in which a group of contestants push themselves to physical limits to win a new pick-up truck. Lani initially said it reminded her of Spellbound from a few years ago which followed a group of contestants in the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee. I don't think that quite captured the same feeling because while you really rooted for the kids there was also a feeling of exploitation in some mof the stories. The rooting interest was tainted by a certain level of discomfort and voyeurism.
Anyway, if you're of a type to spend your movie theater dollars on documentaries I heartily recommend it. And if you haven't seen them, rent Hands on the Hard Body and Spellbound.
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