Marty Supreme - "I Have a Purpose. You Don't."

There was a lot of baggage I had to get over to enjoy Marty Supreme (in theaters this Christmas), and I suspect others will, too. It stars Timothée Chalamet. It’s another hectic nonstop insanity movie from one of the directors of Uncut Gems (Josh Safdie of the Safdie Brothers). And it’s about ping pong. But let me break down why this is actually one of the best films of the year, depending on how much you can handle these aspects of it.

First: Chalamet. The name alone can inspire an eye-roll, even if you don’t know who he is. Then you find out he’s young, dating a Kardashian (technically a Jenner, I think), is an unfairly good actor, etc. In other words, he’s the DiCaprio of today, or the Pattinson. But it’s always been stupid to hate actors like this sight unseen. I’m guilty of hating DiCaprio in my youth, and I certainly found the Twilight nonsense with Pattinson annoying in my twenties, but both of those guys are amazing actors who got handcuffed to an early popular film or series but proved themselves over the years. 

Chalamet doesn’t have the annoying movie or series tied to him; he just seems to be one of those young actors who became a “thing” out of nowhere. But he’s actually been acting since his early teens, and he’s great. Roles in Dune and Bones and All convinced me he was good, but it was his work as Bob Dylan in last year’s A Complete Unknown that turned me into a fan. And he’s even better in Marty Supreme. 

Marty Supreme is about a ping pong player named, you guessed it, Marty, who is solely devoted to becoming a world champion in the 1950s. It’s one of those stories that’s so specific it seems like it has to be based on a true story, but it’s not (it is slightly inspired by real life ping pong champion Marty Reisman, but that’s used more as a jumping off point than as a full story). While there is plenty of ping pong playing in the film, the actual focus is on the insane determination of Marty and his ability to use people to get what he wants. 

Marty is a pathological liar. He scams everyone. People don’t matter to him. As he tells the mother of his unborn child, “I have a purpose. You don’t.” He should be the most unlikeable protagonist in recent memory, but somehow he’s not, and it’s because of Chalamet’s performance. Typically, a character like this makes me think, “Why does anyone put up with this guy?” And it takes me out of the movie. But Chalamet’s confidence and genuine belief in himself makes you want things to work out for him, even while acknowledging he’s a terrible person. It’s strange, and I can’t explain it aside from realizing Chalamet just has the natural charisma to make this character, and entire movie, work.

Beyond the ping pong and the Chalamet, my biggest concern with this was that it would be another Uncut Gems. To be clear, I liked that movie, but I get secondhand anxiety when I watch a character continually lie and/or make terrible decisions. It made the entire movie an uncomfortable watch for me. Marty Supreme is similar in that Marty lies a lot and does plenty of terrible things, but there’s a lightness to it that makes it more funny than tense. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are a number of insane moments that made me laugh even when I rewatched it. In Uncut Gems, I was constantly worried about something terrible happening, so it was unpleasant. In Marty Supreme, I was looking forward to seeing the next crazy thing. And as for worrying about something terrible happening to Marty, I didn’t care because he would deserve it. 

This all sounds like I wanted to hate this, but that truly was not the case. Sure, I hoped I didn’t love it because I don’t look forward to recommending the “ping pong movie” to people for the next month. But I always want to like everything I watch; it’s just that Marty Supreme had a few red flags for me. Thankfully, my imagined issues were forgotten within the film’s first minutes. So if you’ve seen previews for this and wondered what was with the ping pong movie, do yourself a favor and give it a chance. 

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

There are two movies this year I expected to like, not love, and assumed I would never watch again: Eddington and this. I like all of Aster’s movies, but that’s the only one I’ve rewatched. And this is the only Safdie-directed movie I have rewatched. I don’t know if they’re changing or I am, but I dig it. 

I’m okay with just liking this because it’s a funny, wild ride, but I can’t help but apply some meaning to it all. There’s the determination character study factor, but the fatherhood thing stuck with me the most, perhaps because I just rewatched One Battle After Another and had a similar takeaway. Marty never seems to have a legitimate emotional response (aside from anger) throughout the film until he sees his son for the first time. And the fact that the fertilized egg transitions into a ping pong ball (and the fertilization process is shown during the credits) at the beginning probably means something. It’s not that the movie is saying having kids is more important than your dreams (although for most people, it is); I took it more to mean that having children can change you, and in this case it might make a very egotistical character start to think about someone other than himself. One Battle is similar, but it gives two responses as Bob gives up the revolution for a child while Perfidia shuns the implication of motherhood and embraces the revolution. 

I need to stay off of Letterboxd reviews. I read about the “I am a vampire” line before I watched it. I still love that insane moment, but it would have been so much funnier if I hadn’t kind of already known about it.

The music is great. 80s music during the 50s works. But the score has some great moments, too. I especially enjoyed when it would become John Carpenter-esque at times during tournaments and whatnot.

The best use of sperm fertilizing an egg during the opening credits since Look Who’s Talking.

“I’m going to do to Kletski what Auschwitz couldn’t. Okay? I’m going to finish the job.” Holy fucking shit. That’s the line and delivery that sold me for the rest of the film. 

“Put your money where your mouth is.”

“Why don’t I put my penis where your mouth is?”

Every time Moses the dog showed up again cracked me up. You would assume that a missing dog wouldn't factor into the plot that much, but I'm glad it did.

The bathtub scene might be the hardest I've laughed at a movie this year.

Glad to see the homeless guy with the great voice is still kicking. Like with most of the casting, I have no fucking idea why he's in this, but still nice to see him.

I bet Mr. Wonderful and David Mamet had some very chill conversations between takes.