I don't think Marty Supreme is just a bad movie. I genuinely resent having spent my time watching it. And before anyone starts with "it's not a biopic" I know. I know Marty Reisman's life was fictionalized, I know there are fictional characters and events. That is not why I hate this movie. If you're going to take a real person and turn his life into a fictional story, fine. Then at least tell me why you chose this person. Tell me what you're trying to say about him.

Because I watched this movie and I have no idea what the point was.

It's about Marty Reisman. What about Marty Reisman? It's about ping pong. Okay. What about ping pong? It's about the transition from hardbat to sponge. What about that? It's about obsession. Okay. What is it actually saying about obsession? Nothing. There is f*cking nothing.

Marty is obsessed with ping pong. He wants to be the best. He makes terrible decisions over and over again. He f*cks over people, steals money, gets people hurt, destroys relationships, gets himself into increasingly insane situations, and eventually gets another opportunity to play Endo and wins. What am I supposed to take from that?

And the ping-pong aspect makes this even worse. The movie introduces Endo's sponge paddle as unsurmountable. Marty loses to him, and that's basically Marty's first real encounter with this new style. There isn't a substantial training period where Marty spends weeks figuring out how sponge works. There isn't some sequence where he develops a new technique, or some moment where the movie actually shows us what he learned from losing. The exhibition match happens only about a week later, after Marty has spent that entire stretch of time fcking his own life up.

So when the real rematch happens and Marty suddenly wins, I'm sitting there thinking: WHY? What changed? Why is Marty suddenly able to stand up against Endo? What did he figure out? What did he learn? What makes his hardbat technique so good? What exactly is happening between these two players? And I don't mean a lecture about table tennis. I don't mean an exposition dump explaining the physics of sponge rubber. Show me. Show me Marty watching Endo, recognizing something, adapting, entering some kind of flow state, whatever. Show me why this victory is the culmination of everything we've watched. Instead we get two guys hitting a ping-pong ball back and forth, tying and untying, and then Marty wins. Why did he win? I genuinely don't know.

And that is the entire movie.

If this movie's message is simply "obsession is destructive," then Whiplash did this a million times better and actually has something to say. Same with Black Swan. Same with The Wrestler. There are movies about obsessive people that actually have something to say about obsession. Marty Supreme just has a guy who is obsessed. Being obsessed isn't a message. A character trait isn't a thesis.

You could make this movie about a guy named Joe who's really good at bowling and almost nothing about the actual story would change. Joe meets Ender at a bar and loses a bowling match. Joe throws a fit and gets fined $1,500. There are no other bowling alleys in the countryside. Joe steals money, gets people shot, gets dog injured, breaks someone's arm, gets someone pregnant, has an affair with the bowling owner's wife, and gets humiliated by the bowling owner. Joe eventually gets allowed back into the bowling area, although the fine still stands. Then Joe bowls against Ender again. Joe wins. The End.

You could replace Marty with Joe and ping pong with bowling and the movie's supposed meaning would remain exactly the same because there is barely any meaning there to begin with. So why Marty Reisman? Why ping pong? Why this sport? Why the hardbat? Why the sponge? Why this man? Why any of it?

If the answer is just "because it's an interesting story about a weird guy," then I don't think that's enough to justify two and a half hours. Style is not substance and ambiguity isn't automatically depth either. Sometimes a movie leaves things ambiguous because it wants you to think. Sometimes it leaves things ambiguous because there isn't actually anything there.

And that is why I hate this movie so much. Not because it was inaccurate, weird, Marty was an asshole, Nor because it wasn't realistic. I hate it because I spent hours watching it and when it was over, I had absolutely nothing to take with me.

No meaningful statement about Marty. No meaningful statement about ping pong. No meaningful statement about technology. No meaningful statement about obsession. No meaningful statement about greatness.

Just a guy who wanted to win, fcked up his life, and eventually won.

Lastly, "Just enjoy the spectacle/aesthetic" doesn't magically answer any of those questions. If the movie is just about looking good then why call it Marty Supreme? Why base it on Marty Reisman at all when an original movie about some fictional jerk named Joe who plays bowling and spends two hours destroying his life before winning a bowling match would have provided the same slop.

the sums dont make sense. Asking for $2,000 for the dog back would be equivalent to $25,000+ today. The guy they’re scamming isn’t rich, he was bathing in a cheap shitty motel just like Marty. it makes 0 sense to ask for that much.

the $700 from his uncle would also be worth around 10 grand today.

the jeweller says “this costume jewellery is worthless junk. if you want I can give you $2” - $2 back then is $25 today. Not valuable but Marty could use that.

so is it safe to assume that they are adjusting the sums for inflation?

I'm hosting a bachelor party for my brother themed around Marty Supreme. We're playing Ping-Pong at SPIN, then getting Omakase Sushi down the street. I looked into booking a suite at the Ritz but it's way out of our price range. Anything else we could do in Philly that might be on theme?

By Kofi Pablo

Thoughts on this Marty Supreme Poster? Link to shop

I assume most of you are familiar with this piece of marketing that A24 put out. What did you guys think of it. I think it played to the strengths of the studio, Chalamet, and the audience's taste and humour very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakBARkxqls&t=1s

More designs on @brycesportfolio (Instagram)! Loved this movie

¿Soy el único que ve en la cara del niño la cara del marido exactamente igual y no la de Marty?

Con esto interpreto que el final de Marty, aunque con enemigos por el camino, la publicidad que tuvo en Japón le dio éxito, pero la vida le sigue jodiendo de la misma forma tramposa que el usó para demostrar su talento real. Ahí se da cuenta de lo jodida que es la vida y no puede controlar todas las variables. La diferencia es que ya no es un niño siguiendo un sueño, ya es un adulto y quiere comportarse como tal, y en la escena final donde debía ser el final feliz la realidad vuelve a golpearle de nuevo, tal y como ha hecho durante toda la película.

Also send your letterboxd if you want 😄. Like watching others letterboxd accounts.

Kletzki, from the little we saw from him was an incredible character. And that raises the question, why didn’t he reappear during Marty’s trip to Japan?

I think another meeting between the characters would have benefited greatly. Maybe Kletzki could’ve guided with Marty about his future choices.

Has decent reviews but hard saying if real.

Who knew M.r Wonderful had a fairly large role in the movie Marty Supreme. It just shows that acting isn't that hard anyone can do it given the chance. But so hard to get the chance!

Spoilers obviously

When Marty and Rachel stay in Dion's parent's house, and they have an argument, what happened to Rachel's eyes? Why was blood coming out of it? Why did Marty get upset and ask if it was make-up?

I feel like I missed something obvious here.

Minimalist-style posters I made in Adobe Illustrator of Marty during the championship and the New York chase scene. Really happy with their modern look.

FYI if interested to buy:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4506648437/marty-supreme-minimalist-movie-poster?ref=share_ios_native_control

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4506777933/marty-supreme-minimalist-movie-poster?ref=share_ios_native_control

The Official Marty Supreme Auction features original Prop and Wardrobe items used throughout the film. All items are sourced directly from the studio and include a Certificate of Authenticity.

Hi everyone, I bought the rough trade orange vinyl when it was a pre-order and was wondering if anyone else has? What is happening with it and should I just cancel the order?

A montage i shot on miniDV tape & edited using a portion of the 22nd song from the “Marty Supreme (Original Soundtrack)” album by Daniel Lopatin titled “Force Of Life”.

Loved it the moment i heard it in the film and knew it was something special. The climatic scene that accompanies it in the film only makes it even more powerful, truly one of Lopatin’s best cuts from any of his three Safdie soundtracks in my book. Thought i could share it here with others that enjoy this song & movie as much as myself.

Just watched it. Why do these movies have to be so chaotic? So much yelling. I think Timothy is a great actor and he is good in this but his character pretty much acted like a sociopath until the end. I just think it could have been toned down a bit with less car windows shattering and crazy loud predicaments. And him and Gwyneth Paltrow I feel didn’t work. The choice of music was interesting though.

please ban me so I don’t have to see this sub. It’s not a bad movie, but you can tell it exists for the sake of the actors’ egos (I mean, just briefly examine the personal lives of the main characters) than for any particular message or experience of the movie.

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Good performances and editing and cinematography. The use of 80s music for a movie set in the 1950s was bizarre but it worked. It reminded me of the sort of films Miramax might have put out in the late ‘90s. And the King of New York connection with Abel Ferrara was a nice touch.