Very well executed

Charming and brutal

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This film was more a tragedy than a comedy. It follows the trials of Scott an overweight D&D aficionado who lives utterly for and mostly in the fantasy world he has created for his fellow gamers. He has no girlfriend, prospects, true friends or social life outside his D&D set. Whenever he is faced with any challenge to his world he flies into a childlike tantrum only serving to make things worse. Because of this last I had very little pity for Scott and in most cases thought he received his just desserts.The plot of the film doesn't really progress anywhere although Sam Eidson's portrayal of Scott was superb. The film revolves utterly around Scott so the poor performances of the remaining cast go unnoticed.This film is not a "Comedy." I did not laugh once. Considering the sad and depressing nature of Scott's life and the fact that he appears to learn no real lesson or change any facet of his character by the film's conclusion it can only be seen as a tragedy. And a poor one at that.

I had such high hopes for this movie, as an avid D&D player through my college years and a fan of MMOs. Finally, the geeks get their due. We've got a gamer protagonist who is both sympathetic and pitiable. I rooted for him, I felt bad for him, I felt embarrassed for him. He does everything he can, but his luck is just terrible. His nemesis is better looking than him, has more friends, a better website, and he might be smarter, but he's also a bit douchey. A little stuck up. At first he looks like he might be the better man, but as we learn more about him, maybe not. Someone in another review compared this to Taxi Driver, and I can see why they'd say that. By the end I kept wondering how poor Scott could ever rectify his situation. There were people I was hoping he would just go mad and attack, because it looked like there was nothing else left for him to do. I'm avoiding spoilers here, but let me say that I was very disappointed in the ending. I think our hero deserved better than he got. If you're a table top gamer or you like RPGs or MMOs, definitely give it watch, but beware the finale. It's not as good as it could've been, by far.

Frankly as a nerd i'm quite offended by this ridiculously predictable portrayal of a nerds life, it has just about every boring cliché that has become overused by years of declining media values such as geeks and nerds are fat, socially awkward, angry and in need of every bodies pity, whilst in most cases this may be true, it was unnecessary to throw it in the viewers face at every turn. I would absolutely NOT recommend this insulting pile of garbage to anyone other than maybe a schoolyard bully wanting to laugh at all the childish jokes that have ever been thought up to hurt nerds and geeks. I watched this movie because i was highly bored and the tag-line stood out, it failed to even alleviate the boredom slightly.

Whether you've grown up with table top role playing games (RPGs), or have only looked upon it with the eyes of an outsider (including those of you who've only played computerized RPGs), I think you'll find this movie very entertaining. The humor and pathos of ZERO CHARISMA are presented with loving and honest insight, so that even if your impulse is to laugh at the "pathetic losers", you will be hard pressed to not also find some resonance of the characters' actions and feelings in your own life.The respectful and subtle presentation of the character motivations and interactions is more akin to the geek/nerd trope presented in RUSHMORE or (the very excellent) WHITEBOYS, and not at all like the outsider's take in NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (though if you're a fan of that film, you'll find equally ridiculous behaviors and situations to guffaw over in this movie...they're just a little more layered).There's no need to go into the story in any depth, as the logline of this film is all you need to know going in. It's a good movie, although I may only think it's a 10 because I've played D&D for thirty years...and I recognize that this movie is celebrating that at the same time that it shines a light on the negative aspects of giving up Real Life for a fantasy world that we can control.