"Marty Supreme" is Exhausting and Unlikable Experience

I must admit that I am in a pickle with this review. Josh Sadfie (one of the Sadfie Brothers, who directed films like “Uncut Gems” and “Daddy Long Legs,” two films I unquestionably liked) has crafted a technically great, roller coaster of a film. He and his brother Benny used to direct films together, but split this year to make solo projects. Benny’s film was “The Smashing Machine,” a movie I gave two and a half stars to because while it was well-acted, it wasn’t exactly able to convey why audiences should care about the subject matter.

With “Marty Supreme,” we have the opposite problem: this movie is extremely well made and does a very good job of explaining why the subject matter is so important to our main protagonist. In many ways, this should be the stronger film. Ironically, the film is also swapping places with “The Smashing Machine” in another big way: while I liked Dwayne Johnson's character in Benny’s film, I absolutely loathed Timothée Chalamet’s character in Josh’s film. Like, I truly, truly loathe this guy. Keep in mind, I think movies about unlikable people can work.

If the movie can properly make us at least sympathetic with the anti-hero's plot, you can get great stories like “Breaking Bad” and “Dog Day Afternoon,” fiction that has us caring about the protagonist's outcome even when it is very clear everyone would be better off if these people were not around. The issue I have with Marty Mauser (which is his real name) is that he comes off more as a drug addict than a dreamer. Give the Adam Sandler character from “Uncut Gems” credit; though he didn’t care how he hurt people around him, at least he was a compulsive gambler, so his lack of empathy tracks with someone who suffers from that illness.

But Marty…Marty seems more driven by ego and illusions of grandeur. He is chasing a dream that nobody cares about, and one that even a starry-eyed dreamer will look upon and question if the ends justify the means. He is not above stealing from family members and friends so that he can buy a plane ticket to attend a ping pong competition, which he is looking at to restore his reputation after a humiliating defeat at the hands of a Japanese man (America has just exited World War II). It’s one thing when he attempts to rip off a mobster; its another when he tries to rip off his best friend, uncle, and mother.

As a dreamer of sorts, Marty doesn’t hesitate to scheme, sleep around, and even put a dog's life in danger so long as he can play in the ping pong tournament. And why is this so important to him? Because ping pong is the sport of America’s future, or something to that effect. Look, I know ping pong played a major role in “Forest Gump,” but I still don’t personally know anyone who watches the sport for fun so much that they play it while they are drunk at a Halloween party.

Frustratingly, there are moments where Marty is given a chance to make some real money playing the sport he loves, but he’s too much of a narcissist to do anything but piss off his benefactors. I will agree that the direction is moving at 20 miles a minute, and Timothée Chalamet is acting his butt off here, but I found the experience to be more exhausting than exciting. Exhausting can be fine when you are invested in the outcome (again, see “Uncut Gems”), but I couldn’t care less about Marty Mauser or if he ever got to play the ping pong match he desperately wants, and no amount of great acting can fix that.

This review was originally publish on The Fandom Post.