User reviews

This is absolutely not a terrible movie but you do need to be somewhat of a tabletop RPG fan. Further it helps if you have been around RPG enthusiasts, to help understand some of the social stigma that goes along with. The jokes are a bit goofy and some are just downright idiotic but you will laugh if you let yourself.

I gave it a 6 out of 10, a vote it deserves. Its not a carefully edited comedy, written by an army of comedy writers. Its a B film comedy produced for a niche market. Take it for what it is. There are some wonderful appearances by classic 80s actors and actresses. My gaming group and i have probably watched it three times together.

I picked up this movie in the hope it would be similar to the hilarious "The Gamers" by Dead Gentlemen Productions (which is highly recommendable, by the way). Boy, what a disappointment! The movie is shot in this fake documentary style made famous by the office but it fails to deliver. The reason is partly the stiff acting but mostly the writing and directing. True, it can be funny to use every singe cliché there is about role playing games, but here it is done in such a way that it becomes extremely predictable. Already at the beginning of each scene you know what the "joke" will be about. But maybe the biggest problem is that everything is depicted way over the top. There is no subtlety in this movie, if there would be captions "LAUGH NOW" or a cheap 80s-style fake-laughter track it would not make much difference. With some scenes you can't help to think "Yea, I get why they thought this would be funny" but the way it is executed takes all momentum out of the possible joke.

As a gamer, I can't say I like this film. Fact is, I down right hate it. I tried to watch it as open minded as possible, but when it gets down to it, it feels rather insulting to my social group.

To me, there are several reasons why.

1. The characters seem unnatural. I've met lots of players, of all different walks of life. I don't know any who act like any of the characters in the film. It's like the producers of the film have taken the worst aspects of the worst stereotypes and put them all into 5 people. Most gamers are rather social people, some with rather active lives.

2. The style doesn't work. The mockumentary style is ill suited to the subject matter of the film. An actual documentary on gamers would actually work better. While it is good looking (I.E. cleanly put together), it isn't very good.

3. The dialogue feels forced, unnatural. It also seems to lack any real world context. Gamers swear, I'll admit that, but we don't have Tourette's Syndrome.

4. The humor is lacking. While self-deprecating humor is a mainstay of my group and several other groups I've encountered, this is less self-deprecation, and more like toilet humor. Likewise, a large part of gamer humor is full of in-jokes and anecdotes, not toilet humor. Most gamers would balk at and shun anybody who made such jokes.

5. The biggest problem to me is basically this: Accuracy. I don't mean rules, but instead dynamics. Invariably, this film is going to be compared to the even lower budget films The Gamers and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, both of which portray the players as actual people playing an actual game. The difference is, Gamers: The Movie presents a situation where you want to beat the players senseless vs. The Gamers, where you can say something like: "Huh, I know a guy like that... Yep, that's definitely like Gary."

Wow! I saw the first screening of this movie and think it's amazing! I can't wait to see it again! Writer/director Christopher Folino has brought the seemingly underground world of RPG gaming mainstream. No need for any previous knowledge of the subject - This movie will thoroughly entertain everybody from those who have never even heard of role playing games all the way to the Dungeon Masters.

Did I mention it's absolutely hilarious!!!? Not just funny, but choking on your popcorn and spraying Dr. Pepper out your nose kinda funny! Gamers pushes the envelope as far as what some sensitive viewers may find offensive, but Folino and company found a way to make the audience laugh so hard at it that nobody cared. I was worried the funniest parts might have been used up in the preview... Well if that were the case, the preview would have to be 83 minutes long!

I could have sworn this movie was typecast. But I checked it out and these are real actors with REAL resume's. Most indie films aren't acted this well. If I were to knock anything I might suggest washing the windows on the cars for those scenes (even if it IS a "mockumentary" style film) and it needs a couple of minor audio fixes.

Outside of that, I thought it was funnier than anything I've seen, including the blockbusters The 40 Year Old Virgin and Wedding Crashers both - only with no dead spots for you to leave and use the bathroom. You're likely to already have peed your pants by then anyhow!

~Tom

P.S. I had no part in the making of this movie and gain nothing, financially or otherwise, for writing this. It is truly a great film!

I saw this at the March 21st screening and really enjoyed it. The cast has terrific chemistry--think of the give and take between the three main characters in "Office Space" and you've got the vibe of the "Gamers" cast. Funny throughout with some great lines that are going to become inside catch phrases. Even if you never got involved with a role playing game, you know someone who has and you'll be able to relate. My nearly 20-year old son was sitting next to me on one side, my somewhat older boyfriend was sitting on the other side, and we all three laughed through the entire movie. Good luck getting distribution--the movie certainly deserves to be seen.

Christopher Guest need not worry, his supreme hold on the Mockumentary sub-genre is not in trouble of being upstaged in the least especially not by this extremely unfunny jab at RPG-gamers. The jokes are beyond lame. Not enough substance to last the typical length of a (particularly rancid) SNL skit, much less the 87 atrocious minutes I waisted watching this drivel. The great William Katt (Greatest American Hero, House) deserves much MUCH better. One thing and one thing alone makes the fact that I saw this worth it in my mind and that's posting about it on here so hopefully just hopefully I'll save someone such a bad experience.

My Grade: D-

DVD Extras: 2 Audio commentaries; 7 interviews with various cast members; 4 deleted scenes; & theatrical trailer

DVD-Rom extras: 2 Wallpapers

Easter egg: Highlight the eye in the picture on the main menu for a short scene

This movie is a must see for any geek. I laughed constantly. I actually had to stop the movie twice cause I was laughing so hard. A lot of the jokes are more along the lines of toilet humor, but still well done.

I actually made all my friends watch it after I saw it, and they all liked it as well.

Low budget, but that perhaps adds to the charm of this movie.

The acting was actually pretty good. I was really surprised to see a few well known actors/actresses in the movie as well.

Give the movie a shot, you might be highly surprised. I know I was, especially considering how low the score is on the IMDb page.

It seems that the various 1-star reviews are taking a personal offense to the portrayal of their own nerd-lifestyle, rather than rating the movie unbiasedly for its content. The movie is far from perfect. Yes, Beverly D'Angelo, Kelly LeBrock, William Katt, and William Heard are used in brief, unimportant roles (no doubt just to add "names" to make the film more marketable), and yes, some of the jokes miss the mark, but that can be said about any comedy movie. I laughed out loud through a good part of the movie, and would recommend above it any of the retarded parody films like "Meet the Spartans", "Epic Movie" and so on. I highly recommend checking out the DVD as the audio behind the title menu is absolutely hilarious.

I just got this from Hollywood Video for $2 used. I had read it was really goofy and stupid, and yes it is. But it's also fun and if you like D&D or larping or even just the movie role models it's fun! It's a cheesy mockumentary about a group of men who have been role playing for over 20 years and are breaking a record by playing a D&D type game called Demons, Nymphs, and Dragons. The cursing is abundant, the humor is toilet, and I think you have to be at least semi nerdy to have a good time with this. It's definitely not a main stream movie that most would enjoy. But if you like a dirty Napolean Dynamite type humor then you may find something appealing. Much better than expected.

This is a comedy about four guys that are about to set a record for having played D&D every day for the past 23 years. If you can deal with that, then there's a good chance you're going to like this movie.

From reading the comments on here, it seems like this is certainly a "love it or hate it" kind of movie, but all of my friends love it. I certainly loved it. I loved it for the dumb comedy that it was. The mocumentary style worked quite well for this film. Although it was quite different from a Christopher Guest film (eg Best in Show), it has much of the same appeal--bizarre characters with an almost unnatural obsession. In this case the obsession is the RPG DND (Demons Nymphs and Dragons).

If you've ever seen other mockumentaries, you'll know that they're not for everyone, and you have to be in the right mood to watch it. But have a couple friends over, drink a few beers, and you'll be rolling on the floor with laughter.

I've seen complaints about the stereotyped main characters and the clichés that are employed in the movie. I believe that criticism stems from each character living with his parents and working at a lousy, under-paying job. Thats where the stereotypes end. Each character brought something original to the table, giving it a fresh spin. While a few of the characters are The supporting cast (Reece's Boss, Gordon's Parents, etc...) also really came through with a lot of laughs, rounding out the movie.

This movie is perhaps a little less polished and refined than a Guest film, but for a first-time writer/director/producer/editor its absolutely brilliant!

You want to see the movie "THE Gamers" by Dead Gentlemen Productions. This is not that movie. This movie is not funny. It is a waste of time.

All of the good comments here seem to be written by (poorly disguised) false third parties. The people who made this movie seem to be attempting to synthesize fake interest.

This movie is not a well done mockumentary. Comparisons to "Spinal Tap" or Christopher Guest are insulting.

The movie is so mean-spirited that I cannot imagine anyone familiar with the subject matter finding it funny. Being able to laugh at yourself is an important quality, but if you are the ones being lampooned in this manner, you'd have to hate yourself to enjoy it.

The movie is not offensive because of its grand satire of taboo topics but because of its constant pathetic banality.

I usually enjoy films like this. It's shot documentary style, but the acting and writing are just awful. The acting is wooden and stiff and the writing is just so cliché, but not at all in a good way. As of typing this, I'm surprised it's at a 5.2/10 on IMDb. I'm certain that most of these votes must have come from relatives of people in the movie. I suppose if that's the case, you might manage a couple of laughs, as it's always funny seeing your relatives/friends make a movie. Well, in a way, I guess this gives hope to all up and coming writers, directors, actors, etc., 'cause if they can do it, you can do it. Although, maybe you shouldn't.

A great concept, some great performances, some truly funny moments and a movie that will become a cult classic. It's not the greatest film ever. I was so ready to hate this film. I had the line written already - "I put the Gamers disc in...and my DVD player scratched it. I'm pretty sure it was in self defense."

Instead what I found was solid independent film with production value that sets out to have a good time poking a little fun at the people who play role playing games by showing us a little behind the scenes action. If you offend easily, don't watch Gamers. Everyone else, have at it. The one liners you'll be able to share with others will undoubtedly elevate your status around the water cooler. There are actual stars in this movie! See if you can pick out the Greatest American Hero. If you're a nerd or just a closet nerd...Buy this film!

This movie is just lame. A total waste of time and money. The jokes are predictable, the characters are so cliché and the way it talks about RPG gamers is not funny as well. The problem is that the writers seems not to know how a RPG game works and, most important, how to make jokes about this game. Of course there are a bunch of losers who play RPG like freaking retards and total losers. But for me this is not the funniest way to make jokes about this game. The story doesn't make any sense at all. Who cares about how long a game is being played? The greatest problem in this movie is that the writers and actors didn't even try to know what RPG is about to make jokes about it. I felt ashamed by watching this lame movie.

I saw "Gamers" at GenCon in 2006 and was just about in the floor rolling with laughter.

The guy who wrote the screenplay deserves to be making big budget comedies in Hollywood. His script is the funniest thing ever. It has side-spitting laughs and a real story. Some movies have the laughs but the story is not much to shout about. This is not true with "Gamers." The scrip was so good that several big name actors agreed to be in the movie for scale wages just to be in something so new and so good.

There isn't more concerning the plot, acting, production values, etc, that hasn't been commented on but I wanted to chime in with my endorsement. If you want to laugh your butt off, get this movie. --RaggedyAnn, Plant City, FL

This movie is NOT funny. It just takes the D&D nerd stereotypes and amplifies them. All the main characters make less than 30k a year, they all live with their parents, they're all socially retarded, and they have no luck with women. The jokes are horrible and unimaginative, such as two of the gamers getting beat up by a black midget because one of them had a KKK looking hood on (it was his wizard costume) and the other guy had on a John Rocker warm up (oh how funny, he's a nerd so he doesn't know about sports). You may have to be a childish high-schooler to find any of this stuff funny. Poorly done mockmuntaries are so painful to watch, but obviously extremely cheap to make. I feel sorry for Kelly LeBrock and Beverly D'Angelo. I guess these are the only opportunities available for hotties way past their prime.

Saw this movie at a screening. I laughed my ass off the whole time! Being a bit of a RPG nerd myself, I totally connected with the characters and their plight. "Gamers" is to pencil and paper warriors what "This is Spinal Tap" is to Rock n' Roll.

It was also cool to see some known actors (Beverley Di'Angelo, Kelly LeBrock, William Katt)mixing it up with the new guys, who are pretty talented in their own right (I cried with laughter when Reese is leaving the threatening voice mails on the DM's phone!).

I would recommend this movie to anyone who has ever played D&D, have friends who play, or even anyone who's made fun of them! A big thumbs up on this film.

P.S. I am not involved in the make of this film, and will in no way profit from this project. Just the honest opinion of a guy who saw it.

I just finished watching this movie and I found it was basically just not funny at all.

I'm an RPG Gamer (computer type, none of the DnD tabletop stuff) but I found none of the jokes in this funny at all.

Some of the scenes seemed to drag out a lot (tilt and zoom could've been cut down to 5seconds rather than over a minute) and it feels as though the director was just trying to fill in time.

I think I laughed a total of 2-3 times in the entire movie.

The acting itself wasn't all that bad, around the standard that a B Grade movie should have.

I'd suggest not bothering with this movie unless you're a huge DnD fan and even then it would probably be best to steer clear of it.

Yea, this movie is one of those that you have to have in your DVD collection. Listen up ... if you liked Office Space ... then stop what you are doing and get this DVD ... BUY IT and you will want to watch this over and over again. FUNNY as all get out. You will laugh so hard, beer will come out your nose. I never laughed so hard at a film when you get a group of guys together (nerd fest) and place in some crack humor ... good times. William Katt couldn't be any cooler then when he gives his "The sucks all on you" speech. Reese .. oh my God .. Reese ... this guy will have you calling your ex-girlfriend over the phone and ... well, you'll just have to see it. This movie is 5 out of 5 stars, 2 thumbs up ... way the frig up.

butterfingers

First things first, I have to admit that the title of Gamers kind of fooled me because my initial thought was that this was going to be a movie about video game freaks, not pen and paper, RPG nerds. My guess is that the misleading title is intentional to "bait and switch" goofballs like me. Don't get me wrong, I've played a great many pen and paper RPG's in my time and have a great affinity for them. But nowadays, "Gamers" has a completely different connotation in my mind and in the minds of many others, I'm sure. Using that title here just smacks of shameless commercialism, which pisses me off.

This straight-to-DVD offering follows a group of friends (Kevin, the nerd who thinks he's not a nerd; Reese, the uber-nerd; Fernando, the foreign nerd; Paul, the squirrelly nerd; and Gordon, the nerd with a heart of gold) that has been playing the same game of Demons, Nymphs and Dragons ("D-N-D," get it? Aren't the creative forces behind this flick oh-so-goddamn clever??) since high school and they are finally about to break the world record for total hours played. A documentary crew (represented in the voice-over narration of Michael Bell) follows this group of misfits as they prepare to rewrite the annals of "D-N-D" history.

The movie itself is an exercise in frustration because it is just so incredibly schizophrenic and uneven. They mention in the extras (quite proudly for some reason…) that Gamers was shot in six days and, oh boy, does it show. There are some funny moments (Reese's lactating prom date stands out in my mind), but the ham-fisted direction and acting, especially by Joe Nieves as Fernando, who, quite noticeably, slips in an out of his supposed Argentinean accent throughout the film, completely sabotages the few, solid comedic moments.

It is a shame because in the hands of a capable director, Gamers could have been something. We're not talking Citizen Kane here, but with a legitimate cast, budget, and creative team this could have been just as good as, if not better than, one of my favorite "guilty pleasure" movies, Grandma's Boy.

The real shame in this flick truly lies in the crappy, "cash-in" cameos by John Heard, William Katt, Beverly D'Angelo, and Kelly LeBrock. (Man, has she hit the wall going a thousand miles an hour. I guess being married to Steven Seagal for nine years takes a toll on a girl…) I hope whatever they were paid for this gig was worth it because all of their sad performances in Gamers define the phrase "mailing it in." If it were up to me, I would've hired a gaggle of unknowns for these parts, since the so-called "stars" here don't really provide any star power anyway, used whatever money I saved to put back into my film, thus (hopefully) improving the overall quality of it…but that's just me, I guess. I'm kooky like that.

In terms of technical specs and extras, the film itself is presented in full screen, 1:33:1 format and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound, so this disc isn't going to blow any of you technophiles away. The extras are pretty thin as well, offering two lame commentary tracks, a handful of useless, deleted scenes, and a short interview session with the main cast members, which again, adds nothing to the overall experience. It's as if they just slapped on some extras just so they can say, "Hey, at least we have some extras on our DVD!"

At the end of the day, Gamers as a concept is a great idea; a movie that I would want to see and would pay to see. Unfortunately, the cheap and shoddy execution of the film entirely kills the overall experience for me. Every time a humorous bit sucked me into the film's story, I was almost immediately ripped out by some horrible acting or amateurish direction…and that just annoys me to no end.

Rent (Buy? What are you nuts?!) Gamers at your own peril. A saving throw against Bargain Bin Bullshit may be required first. Consider yourself warned, pilgrim.

Without a doubt this was one of the funniest movie I have watched in a long long time.

I was one of the lucky ones to see a screening of this film and the humor in this movie is actually pretty clever. The situations are so absurd that I've never seen anything like it before.

Cut scenes that show a radically new perspective on certain situations while setting up the punch lines. Some shots are a little gross but hilarious!!!

The choice of casting is excellent--I especially liked the "Reese" and "Johnny" characters. Funny!! If you get a chance, see this film!

I can't wait for this to come out - "Spinal Tap" meets Dungeons and Dragons (The game, not the movie!!). Although it hasn't come out yet (hopefully the makers will get their wish and get picked up by a festival this year for some wider viewing), the concept, the actors and the trailers all make for what seems to be a very funny movie with a lot of promise. Just like other "mockumentaries", there seems to be a character that anyone familiar with the gaming community (or familiar with friends or spouses in the gaming community) can identify with. They seem to have put a lot of themselves, their heart and their own experiences into this film, and that's what makes the best kind of movie.

I bought Gamers because of an Ad I saw in a magazine in the PX in Tallil Iraq.... about 2 weeks later the movie arrived and my roommate and I watched it at least 20 times or more. It's funnier the more you watch it...there are so many things going on in this movie. Here's some interesting trivia: the guy who says "put some clothes on" in the instructional video was Chief Latrine in King Frat.

There is a scene where Reese is at work calling Kevin and leaving messages on his answering machine that has me rolling on the floor every time I watch it.

This movie is one of the best buys for entertainment purposes I ever made...