Who knew that Dungeons and Dragons could be so funny? Anyone who's ever actually played it, of course.
That said, I have to admit that I was still a bit apprehensive about watching The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, an allegedly humorous take on D&D. After all, pretty much any movie that involves Dungeons and Dragons to any degree ranges somewhere between unwatchably godawful (Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God) and "I want to poke out my eyes with a vorpal sword so as to eliminate even the slightest possibility of seeing anything this bad ever again" terrible (Dungeons and Dragons). No, D&D movies are not the absolute worst films that I have ever seen (that honor belongs to The Stuff), but they are pretty darn close. It seemed fairly reasonable to assume, then, that Dorkness Rising would follow a similar path to critical failure (my first and last D&D pun in the review). Imagine my surprise when I realized that not only is Dorkness Rising watchable, but it's actually a clever piece of satire on tabletop role-playing.
The basic plot of the movie details an aspiring writer-slash-Dungeon Master, Kevin Lodge (whose first name most of his players don't even know), and his attempts to keep his game's focus on story. As such, the film transitions back and forth between in-game plot and happenings away from the game table. Of course, other players, such as the by-the-book Cass, simply wish to loot and pillage with wild rolls of the dice. It's a situation that should sound eerily familiar for anyone who has DMed a campaign of any sort. I certainly found myself flashing back to my own days running our old Dark Sun campaign, and couldn't help but snicker at some of the situations that arose during the movie, saying to myself "Yeah, that happened in our game."
So why does this film succeed where so many others have failed miserably? The difference between this film and, say, any of the numerous other role-playing themed films (except for the niche LARP documentary Darkon, which is actually quite well done) lies in its faithfulness to the true purpose of role-playing games: silly fun and socializing. Dorkness Rising has silly fun in heaps, as it pokes fun at numerous role-playing tropes while also depicting a stunningly accurate rendition of a gaming session. From secret player collaborations (distract the lawful good paladin while I blast this peasant with a fireball) to silly rules-based jokes (casting Animate Dead on the turkey dinner), it's all there in some form. Also, the movie is never taking itself too seriously, at least not when it comes to the in-game material. Most of the spells and magic items in the game, for example, are not actually in Dungeons and Dragons -- though Wizards of the Coast gave the filmmakers permission to use their product in the movie, many of the game mechanics were purposely left general. Compare that to the blatant and shameless pandering in other D&D films ("Did you gamers get it? That was the Fireball spell that he just cast! This is sooo D&D!"), and it's easy to see why Dorkness Rising succeeds: it focuses on the experience of role-playing, not the subject matter.
In so doing, the film really emphasizes the social element of role-playing. It really is all about getting together with friends to have a good time while telling a memorable story -- and of course kicking a little monster ass along the way. The film does an excellent job in presenting group dynamics, from the numerous clashes between the rules lawyer (Cass, who among other things insists upon playing as an elven monk) and the DM (Lodge, whose "Western" campaign setting doesn't have elves or monks) to the player with a propensity for dying (Leo, whose pathetic bard Flynn dies over twenty times in the film, including critically missing on a backstab attempt and accidentally killing himself). Players joke, team up against the DM, and even argue with each other during the film. Again, as a former DM myself, I related all too well to the situations the film presented.
Of course, it would be a bit of a stretch to suggest that non-gamers would get much out of the film. Though there is a love interest, a small subplot involving Lodge's writer's block, and some other "general audience" elements, the bulk of the movie involves a lot of terminology and situations that are very uniquely part of the geek culture of role-playing. From total party kills to males playing seductive female characters -- hilariously represented by both female and male actors -- with ridiculously high charisma, numerous role-playing cliches are touched upon. Though the filmmakers make a valiant effort to appeal to the "newbies" through the character of Joanna, who is new to role-playing (itself a pretty standard role-playing cliche: the girl gamer), by the time she's started her first gaming session, most non-roleplayers will already be hopelessly lost.
For those of us that do understand the difference between a Staff of the Magi and a Holy Avenger +5, however, the film comes highly recommended.
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