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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Mockumentary Director: Christopher Folino |
Through the years, there have been many independent films that have sucked because of their lack of a decent budget and short shoot
times. “Gamers” proves that not all films have to fall short because of these minor obstacles. The film tells the story of a group of
friends going nowhere in their film as they attempt to record the longest running pen and paper role-playing game of Demons, Nymphs
and Dragons, DND.
The film appeals more to fans that have at one point associated themselves with similar role playing games with the multitude of jokes
that only insiders would understand, but many others will enjoy the outright comedy of the film. For those that enjoy watching Arrested
Development, this is definitely a film worth checking out.
Kevin Kirkpatrick, the lead actor in the film, is a familiar face for fans of television comedies. One such role that many may recognize
him from is Kevin from Spike TV’s Joe Shmoe 2. In “Gamers” Kevin plays Gordon, a lovable loser who lives at home with his swinger
parents, which he is completely oblivious of because of his dedication to DND.
Besides Kevin Kirkpatrick, there are several other actors that make the film quite believable. Kevin Sherwood as Kevin, plays his
characters hatred towards Reese perfectly. Though many films show feuds between two characters as very unoriginal, the hatred
between Kevin and Reese brings a new level to the film. The scenes in which viewers get to see Kevin at his day job are quite amusing
and many pen and paper gamers may recognize his character in one of their fellow gamers, the one who takes the concept too far.
Reese, Kevin’s nemesis, gets a lot of attention throughout the film for only being a supporting role. Though he may seem to be a little
over the top, all the time, we can all relate to Reese at one point or another. He’s the guy that is undoubtedly a loser, but thinks that he
is smart and funny. Reese is the target of everyone’s attack for about 75 percent of the time and holds the record for the most
characters killed in the group. It is likely that viewers will feel sorry for him, at least until he opens his mouth and says something, and
then it is back to the attack.
Fernando, the foreign character of the film, seems to be the one character that is the most out of place through almost the entire film.
However, as the story unfolds his story becomes more clear and makes sense in the context of the film. Fernando learned to speak
English by playing DND, but through his dialogue in the film, this quickly becomes difficult to believe. It is also important to know that
Fernando has a job in animal husbandry with Gordon’s father (you have to watch the film).
The last lead supporting role is Scoot Allen Rinker’s role as Paul. Paul keeps a clean mouth after having a confrontation with a nun and
has an addition with Pagan character names. It is his goal in life to break the DND record held by Midwestern farmer gamers. Though
Paul is great a manipulating those around him, he cannot gain the leader position in the group.
Another great element of the film is the list of cameos that are in the film. Some of these cameos include William Katt who plays
Reese's supervisor, John Heard and Beverly D'Angelo who play Gordon's lusty middle-aged parents and Kelly LeBrock, who has a
short appearance in the film as the mother of Gordon's no-show prom date. The best cameo, in the opinion of this writer, is that of John
Heard, as Gordon’s father who is more interested in “Bunko” than in the hobby of his son that has brought many strange and
challenging people and creatures to their home, including a psychotic parrot.
For a situational comedy, “Gamers” works on so many levels. The use of flashbacks to explain the lives of the characters shows that
they have been losers their entire lives, starting all the way back when they were in high school and going to the prom. From Gordon’s
dead-end job to Kevin’s song entitled, “I Love Dick,” which has nothing to do with anything that you may be thinking, the film will have
viewers laughing, guessing what is going on and sometimes wishing that they could turn it off because of the extremes that are taken in
the film.
This mockumentary shows that with a low budget and a short shooting time, with the right actors, and more importantly, with the right
script, any film can become a hit, even if to a select group of viewers. “Gamers” can be said to be almost as good as any big budget
comedy, but was created at a fraction of the price with probably twice as many laughs. Audiences will of course have to take into
consideration that the film was shot in six days, making the film even better than originally thought.
In the end, “Gamers” proves to be a film that real world RPG gamers can appreciate, especially since many filmmakers steer clear of
such minute stories as that of a group of pen and paper RPG gamers. Also, while many non-gamers will have laughs here and there
throughout the film, the majority of “Gamers” is for those who have played these types of games and many of the jokes allude to
Dungeons & Dragons, which can be greatly appreciated by those who have played it.
times. “Gamers” proves that not all films have to fall short because of these minor obstacles. The film tells the story of a group of
friends going nowhere in their film as they attempt to record the longest running pen and paper role-playing game of Demons, Nymphs
and Dragons, DND.
The film appeals more to fans that have at one point associated themselves with similar role playing games with the multitude of jokes
that only insiders would understand, but many others will enjoy the outright comedy of the film. For those that enjoy watching Arrested
Development, this is definitely a film worth checking out.
Kevin Kirkpatrick, the lead actor in the film, is a familiar face for fans of television comedies. One such role that many may recognize
him from is Kevin from Spike TV’s Joe Shmoe 2. In “Gamers” Kevin plays Gordon, a lovable loser who lives at home with his swinger
parents, which he is completely oblivious of because of his dedication to DND.
Besides Kevin Kirkpatrick, there are several other actors that make the film quite believable. Kevin Sherwood as Kevin, plays his
characters hatred towards Reese perfectly. Though many films show feuds between two characters as very unoriginal, the hatred
between Kevin and Reese brings a new level to the film. The scenes in which viewers get to see Kevin at his day job are quite amusing
and many pen and paper gamers may recognize his character in one of their fellow gamers, the one who takes the concept too far.
Reese, Kevin’s nemesis, gets a lot of attention throughout the film for only being a supporting role. Though he may seem to be a little
over the top, all the time, we can all relate to Reese at one point or another. He’s the guy that is undoubtedly a loser, but thinks that he
is smart and funny. Reese is the target of everyone’s attack for about 75 percent of the time and holds the record for the most
characters killed in the group. It is likely that viewers will feel sorry for him, at least until he opens his mouth and says something, and
then it is back to the attack.
Fernando, the foreign character of the film, seems to be the one character that is the most out of place through almost the entire film.
However, as the story unfolds his story becomes more clear and makes sense in the context of the film. Fernando learned to speak
English by playing DND, but through his dialogue in the film, this quickly becomes difficult to believe. It is also important to know that
Fernando has a job in animal husbandry with Gordon’s father (you have to watch the film).
The last lead supporting role is Scoot Allen Rinker’s role as Paul. Paul keeps a clean mouth after having a confrontation with a nun and
has an addition with Pagan character names. It is his goal in life to break the DND record held by Midwestern farmer gamers. Though
Paul is great a manipulating those around him, he cannot gain the leader position in the group.
Another great element of the film is the list of cameos that are in the film. Some of these cameos include William Katt who plays
Reese's supervisor, John Heard and Beverly D'Angelo who play Gordon's lusty middle-aged parents and Kelly LeBrock, who has a
short appearance in the film as the mother of Gordon's no-show prom date. The best cameo, in the opinion of this writer, is that of John
Heard, as Gordon’s father who is more interested in “Bunko” than in the hobby of his son that has brought many strange and
challenging people and creatures to their home, including a psychotic parrot.
For a situational comedy, “Gamers” works on so many levels. The use of flashbacks to explain the lives of the characters shows that
they have been losers their entire lives, starting all the way back when they were in high school and going to the prom. From Gordon’s
dead-end job to Kevin’s song entitled, “I Love Dick,” which has nothing to do with anything that you may be thinking, the film will have
viewers laughing, guessing what is going on and sometimes wishing that they could turn it off because of the extremes that are taken in
the film.
This mockumentary shows that with a low budget and a short shooting time, with the right actors, and more importantly, with the right
script, any film can become a hit, even if to a select group of viewers. “Gamers” can be said to be almost as good as any big budget
comedy, but was created at a fraction of the price with probably twice as many laughs. Audiences will of course have to take into
consideration that the film was shot in six days, making the film even better than originally thought.
In the end, “Gamers” proves to be a film that real world RPG gamers can appreciate, especially since many filmmakers steer clear of
such minute stories as that of a group of pen and paper RPG gamers. Also, while many non-gamers will have laughs here and there
throughout the film, the majority of “Gamers” is for those who have played these types of games and many of the jokes allude to
Dungeons & Dragons, which can be greatly appreciated by those who have played it.
