Unicorn City (2012)

Number Rolled: 3

Movie Name/Year: Unicorn City (2012)

Genre: Independent

Length: 97 minutes

Rating: PG

Director: Bryan Lefler

Writer: Cameron Dayton, Adrian Lefler, Bryan Lefler

Actors: Jon Gries, Matt Mattson, Clint Vanerlinden, Steve Berg, Missy Hill, Niklaas Duncan, Devin McGinn, Jaclyn Hales, Colleen Baum, Tom Markus, Kevin Weisman, Alton Barnhart, Emily Burnworth, Eric Dunton, Dashiell Wolf, Robbie Bagley

Voss is a role-player with seemingly no drive and a bad temper. Pushed by his brother to get a job and put money back into the house, he seeks out his dream profession with a gaming company. When he learns that they can’t hire him without management experience he puts a plan in motion, using his gaming experience to show them that he can be in charge.

I love movies like this one, but I’m bias. I’m no casual role-player. I’ve had table top games, games through the internet, games through MMO’s; you name it. Even my reference book collection spans everything from Dungeons and Dragons to the White-Wolf universe to less known systems like Doublestar (which changed the name to Odd-iz-ze-Quest several years ago). So when I see a movie like this that’s not exactly an A-list movie, but delves into the geek culture of role-playing, I get super excited. That’s because getting to see that this is a popular enough thing for people to want to make a production out of is pretty cool.

My Uncle Steve once told me, years ago, that “the older you get the funnier people will look at you when you tell them you role-play or play games.” Movies like this one, “The Gamers” or even web shows like “The Guild” (which delves into World of Warcraft), make me feel like I’m part of some secret society of adults who actually still accesses that part of their brain that makes people fun: their imagination.

That being said, I thought this was a super cute film. Of course, I’m on the inside. I got all those little nuances that only people in the scene would really get. I found humor in things that you could only really find humor in if you’ve experienced it first-hand. From an outsider perspective, I’m not sure I would have liked “Unicorn City” quite as much. I might not have really understood what was going on or what was driving the main characters.

If you role-play you’ll probably find this movie, at the very least, amusing. If you liked “The Gamers” or “The Gamers: Dorkness Rising,” you’ll probably like “Unicorn City” just as much.

If you know of any other movies that touch on this subject, please let me know. I’d love to see them.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 71%

Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

Movie Trailer: