Wordplay may be a trifle, but it's a fun trifle. The documentary about the New York Times crossword puzzle provides irresistible access to the mysterious man behind the black and white [drape, seven letters], Times puzzle editor Will Shortz.

The first half of the film paints every cog in a puzzle's life cycle — from its constructor to its editor to its solvers — as exacting and witty, albeit in an NPR capacity. One constructor's best line: "'Unkind Donuts' is an anagram for Dunkin' Donuts, and I do believe I've had a few of those." His second best line: "The Sunday breakfast table standard is a pain. I can't tell you how many times 'enema' would've helped me out of a constructing jam if I could use bodily function terms." Once Shortz gives his editorial approval, a host of celebrity crossword addicts, including Bob Dole, Bill Clinton, the Indigo Girls, Ken Burns, Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina, and Jon Stewart, devour it when it appears in the paper. Clinton and Dole reminisce about the 1996 post-election day puzzle that featured two entirely different sets of answers: "BOB DOLE IS ELECTED," and, alternatively, "CLINTON IS ELECTED." Ken Burns waxes Burnsian about the humanizing, meditative populism of the puzzle. Stewart growls, "Ah, Shortz. This is a Tuesday puzzle. I'm using pen, pen. No, I'm using gluestick!"

As long as the film sticks to the Puzzle and Celebrities Who Love It, it's breezy and very, very clever. When it shifts to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which Shortz hosts every year in Stamford, CT, it smacks unpleasantly of Spellbound and War of the Words. It's nice that this solitary hobby bonds intellectually versatile, punny people of all shapes and sizes, but a few too many wacky shots of crossword puzzle-inspired headgear bog down the story's momentum. Even at 90 minutes, Wordplay feels a bit long. (Nearly all the Sundance entries feel too long this year.) Make no mistake, though: Mike Mussina uttering "QED" and "ENE" aloud makes it all worth your while.