After all of the hard work you’re putting in on your daily vocabulary study and review, it’s time to get some popcorn and a soda and relax by watching a good movie. Here are two movies we like, about people who are even more obsessed with words than we are!

Word Wars

This 2004 movie (based on the book Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis) gives you a look at the world of competitive Scrabble players and tournaments. You’ll learn about how much work can go into preparing for what you play as a fun game, and you’ll even get some tips on how to memorize words, something that occupies a large percentage of the tournament players’ time. The weird and wonderful words that are “normal” for the official internationally-judged Scrabble games might not be ones that are particularly useful for daily conversation, but we’re sure you’ll find one or two that catch your eye. Since Scrabble players don’t necessarily have to know the definitions of the words they use, you’ll probably have to make a note of the words and look them up later.

Wordplay

Crossword puzzles have been a popular form of wordplay for over a century – and if you aren’t already doing your daily newspaper crossword puzzle, we recommend you start right away, because it’s a great way to keep your mind nimble and your vocabulary exercised. Then watch the film “Wordplay” and learn about what goes into the making of a crossword puzzle, and meet some of the people who make them and solve them for fun and profit. Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, introduces us to other puzzle creators, and we get a look behind the scenes of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. You’ll have a better appreciation for the art of puzzle-building and solving, and maybe even be inspired to create your own puzzles!

Do you have a vocabulary-themed movie to recommend? Let us know in the comments.