When Steve Wiebe’s job at Boeing was made redundant in 2003 he decided that he’d take the only next logical step open to him, and take a stab at conquering the world Donkey Kong record. The record, held by video gaming legend Billy Mitchell had stood at 874,300 points since the 1980’s.

That’s the setup to The King of Kong, a documentary by Seth Gordon. Sounds like the most exciting, edge-of-your-seat, tension fueled political thriller since a couple of plucky journalists brought down Richard Nixon in All the President’s Men doesn’t it? Well hold on tight because I’m shelving the sarcasm just long enough to let you know that it... well... is.

It’s also the funniest movie I’ve seen in ages. And did I mention touching? Yes, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll get gamer’s RSI. The drama begins when after practicing for months Weibe video tapes a world record attempt in which he scores just over 1,000,000 points, effectively trouncing the world record and making himself a minor local celebrity and his wife glad that she can finally have him back. Until...... Weibe sends off his record-breaking video to the men/nerds/geeks at Twin Galaxies, the guys who keep the official records and who decide if a score will be officially recognised. They judge it not to be a legitimate score on a dubious technicality.

Satisfied within himself Weibe is about to move on with his life until he discovers through a guy who calls himself Mr. Awesome (Deep Throat anyone?) that the still-world-record-holder Mitchell is heavily involved with Twin Galaxies and that they could be protecting his record. But these things can be contentious, as Mitchell himself acknowledges, “No matter what I say, it draws controversy. It’s sort of like the abortion issue.”

The political intrigue ramps up a notch when the Guinness World Book of Records announces that they will be using Twin Galaxies as their official source of computer games records. Oh yeah, it’s game on baby!

It’s a good-old-fashioned showdown as Director Seth Gordon and his team follow Weibe as he sets out to set the record straight and  claim the recognition he’s rightly due, good-naturedly butting heads with a gaming establishment wary of this outsider. Gordon manages to capture some astonishing vérité footage of cat-and-mouse machinations that occasionally feel too good (and ridiculous) to be true.

The sequences at the Funspot gaming lounge are jaw-dropping and hilarious, with some of the most original, irony bypassed characters ever put on the screen. This film is a true gem that everyone should see, and an absolute must for anyone who isn’t precisely sure what the exact rules are for obtaining an internationally recognised world recored in Donkey Kong.

The King of Kong rates 4 1/2 stars.