To all my fellow geeks and nerds, particularly the ones who have been obsessed with a game at some point in their life, a game that takes over your existence, a game that has now become a chapter of your life when you tell people stories of your past, do I have a movie for you. The winner of the audience awards at SXSW this year, directors Katie Graham and Andrew Matthews take us on an uncomfortable journey, one that may hit way too close to home for some, about a man child who takes his gaming a little too seriously in the upcoming comedy, Zero Charisma.
Zero Charisma focuses on Scott (Sam Eidson), a metal head game master of a fantasy role-playing game, who, along with his buddies, go on weekly quests from the comfort of his grandmother’s kitchen. When one of their players suddenly drops out, Scott recruits a former D&D player (Dungeons and Dragons for those who don’t know), a nerdy hipster named Miles (Garrett Graham), to join his cohorts on their intense quests. Miles is the exact opposite of Scott, he’s charismatic, likable, friendly, and, worst of all, knowledgeable. He brings fun and beer to a table where seriousness has ruled for years, charming Scott’s friends and eventually causing a coup out of nowhere, which, as you can imagine for an overweight guy who takes things too seriously, causes Scott’s life to spiral further out of control until he is left with no choice but to try and prove that Miles isn’t the man he claims to be.
The opening two minutes of this movie couldn’t set the film up any better as it clearly expresses how geeky/nerdy this film is going to be. In fact, it’s probably a scary moment for some since they will be seeing themselves on screen but with a different body. At the same time, the film proves its legitimacy because of its ability to be upfront with how realistic it plans on being, it’s so funny and sad at the same time that you might become emotionally torn, though I definitely leaned toward the side of humor.
The title of the film is spot on as Scott is serious only about gaming, thinks he’s better than everyone else even though he doesn’t have many, if any, true friends that he appreciates and he doesn’t give anybody any respect, even his grandma, hence why has literally no charisma. Knowing this, you can imagine the kind of stress and mental instability that occurs when someone who is so charismatic, much nicer and willing to chill and go with the flow enters the picture and disrupts the power and serious balance that Scott has worked to achieve. He tries hard to find ways to prove to his friends that he’s better than Miles which rarely works and he can’t handle the pressure when Miles calls him out on his B.S. It’s his inability to keep his composure and find a work/play 
balance that leads to his demise and why he absolutely needs a kick in the ass in order to be put into place and realize his faults.
Though the film is labeled as a comedy and has a couple of brilliant laugh out loud moments, it came off more as a drama to me about a guy so selfishly wrapped up in his own little world and consumed by his pride that he’s willing to cut off ties with anyone who is willing to stand him because he can’t view the world from any other perspective. Further to that, his inability to believe that games shouldn’t be taken seriously is the reason.
Zero Charisma is honest in its approach of depicting RPG culture and geek gaming culture in general, and for some it may be scary but for most this is a great way to look at yourself in the mirror and laugh a little. I mean, seriously, it’s hard not to laugh at a film that has a scene where a guy wants to pop his friend’s zit but the whole thing looks like a sexual assault. That’s how nerdy this film gets and why it works on so many ridiculous levels. It’s not necessarily the best movie you’ll see this year and the film does have its issues but for people who are entrenched in a geeky community, who loves games and superheroes, fantasy books, films, games and comic conventions, it’s hard not to appreciate what this film has set out to achieve and what is has accomplished.
Rating: The best and most honest live-action depiction of serious gamers that I’ve seen to date (6.7/10)
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