I’ve seen The King of Kong several times over the years and it never fails to fascinate me. Its setting is the niche world of competitive “retro gaming” but its scope is much greater than its parts. This epic battle – in which two very different competitors vie for supremacy in an unlikely setting – is about so much more than high scores and spent quarters. It’s about good and evil, corruption, and a cult of personality. The King of Kong, a truly wonderful documentary, puts a new spin on an age-old tale and does so with undeniable charm and humor.
With a bit of thought, I’m sure you could come up with ten movie villains right off the top of your head. Their motives will likely vary and come in various shades of gray, but they’re still easily recognizable as villains, right? Well, The King of Kong has one of those too – and while he may look different than Darth Vader or Hans Gruber, he’s just as unlikable and just as enigmatic. His name is Billy Mitchell and for 25 years he held the world’s highest score in Donkey Kong.
Billy has insulated himself in a circle of yes-men who seem to worship at his feet. To them, he can do no wrong so when a newcomer hits the scene, the troops rally to protect their hero. Billy is cast as infallible, thus anyone who dares challenge him must be delegitimized. Some of the players, such as Walter Day – the owner of Twin Galaxies, the official organization that tracks video game high scores – are kind-hearted folks who’ve been sucked into Billy’s web. Others are a bit more devious.
The newcomer is Steve Wiebe, a high school math teacher and dad from the suburbs of Seattle. He’s submitted a videotape to Twin Galaxies in which he annihilates Billy’s Donkey Kong score (listen to Steve’s young son on the tape calling from the bathroom). The tape is initially accepted, and Steve is awarded the title. However, Billy and his cohorts have other plans. I’ll leave the rest to unfold of its own accord.
Remember, this is a documentary. The plot set-up I’ve just described – with some slight tweaking of the setting – could be a political thriller or have the makings of a compelling courtroom drama. The backdrop may not be traditional, but the tension is just as palpable as any film. In fact, it may be more simply because the events really did happen. Couple that with the obvious emotion Steve and his family have about their treatment and you’d have to be made of stone to not get behind them. Steve is the little guy taking on the established order. Of course you root for him.
While The King of Kong might not be down-the-middle objective (filmmaker Seth Gordon has clearly chosen who we should root for and identify with), it’s impossible not to suspect Billy is up to something and that there’s a double standard at play. Most of the side participants come to realize this over the course of the film as well, and it’s their arcs that put the finishing emotional touches on an already wild ride. On the surface, the ride shouldn’t be anywhere close to wild, but I assure you, it sure as hell is.
Gordon and his team have expertly crafted a very small story into one of gargantuan proportions. It’s easy to see The King of Kong as a microcosm of dateless societal issues – where a man of mystifying appeal brainwashes a community into thinking of him as God-like. His disciples are eventually won over by the just and truly righteous, and while not completely disavowing their poorly conceived savior, have at least had their eyes opened to a new way of thinking. I’m not saying Billy Mitchell is an evil man (I have, of course, never met him), but the way he’s portrayed – or more accurately, the way he portrays himself – looks like someone with, at best, an ego problem, and at worst, a delusional self-image. (I believe Billy thought he was the good guy of the story, which should be mind-boggling to anyone with a heart.) A lot of parallels can be drawn to a lot of contemporary public figures. If you care to look, you won’t find that a difficult task. I urge you to give it a try and judge for yourself.
(I don’t want to give anything away, but there have been some very recent developments concerning one of the film’s participants. Look it up after you’ve seen the film.)
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.