Erica and I saw Wordplay tonight, and as is usually the case, we were by far the youngest ones in the 19th street theater. Erica's a good sport, sticking with me wherever I manage to drag her. I'm sure she often wonders how she brought herself to marry such a nerd. Why can't I like sports or something?

Wordplay didn't quite live up to the buzz. I thought it was "cute" and Erica thought it was "amusing." It's borderline intriguing, but mostly just amusing. It didn't have the cute kids of Spellbound nor the personality of Word Wars. Not a whole lot left to carry it, then.

Most of the time it felt like an inside joke that we weren't in on, seeing as how we aren't crossword fanatics. But it's a successful film in that you kind of really want to be on the inside, whether you want to admit it or not. It's definitely fun to hear everyone in the theater whispering the answers to their neighbors.

But we want to be on the inside, alright, so much so that we came home and played a game of Scrabble (Erica won 301 to 258), and I'm already planning to try the crossword in tomorrow's paper.

I'm sure it'll be just a phase. It won't last long. I don't have the patience.