By Randal C. Hill
On Christmas Day 2024, “A Complete Unknown” opened in theaters and helped to boost the star power of Timothée Chalamet with his spot-on portrayal of folk-rock icon Bob Dylan. One year later, a Chalamet movie again premieres on December 25—and his screen persona couldn’t be more unlike that of the 60s music superstar.
Related: Movie Preview: “A Complete Unknown”
In “Marty Supreme,” Chalamet comes to us as Marty Mauser, a highly skilled athlete involved in—of all things—table tennis.
Wait. Don’t go away. “Marty Supreme” isn’t your standard sports biopic. It’s a story of one gifted man pushing against odds and doing what he must to achieve a nearly impossible goal—to prove that he’s the world’s best at something. And if he must manipulate and use people along the way, well, so be it.
This release is loosely based on the story of Marty Reisman, possibly the finest ping-pong player of all time. Born in Manhattan in 1930, the high-strung Reisman suffered a nervous breakdown at age nine but soon found playing table tennis helped him crawl out of the funk.
He was outstanding from the get-go. By age 13, he had become the city junior champion and began hustling bets at a downtown table tennis club, where he would lure in challengers, lose the first few games, then, after the stakes were raised considerably, destroy all comers. He later toured as an opening act for the Harlem Globetrotters, where he hit balls with a frying pan, the soles of his sneakers, and the flat end of a chess piece.
His 1974 autobiography, “The Money Player,” later inspired film director Josh Safdie (“Good Time,” “Uncut Gems”) to create this month’s feature.
In Safdie’s story, Mauser proclaims to his manager, “I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m telling you, this game, it fills stadiums overseas. And it’s only a matter of time before I’m staring at you from the cover of a Wheaties box!”
The fine supporting cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Dreschler and magician Penn Jillette. Released by A24 films, “Marty Supreme” could easily be a box-office winner.
