{"id":2213822,"date":"2025-12-27T15:03:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T15:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2213822"},"modified":"2025-12-27T15:03:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T15:03:06","slug":"marty-supreme-review-one-absolutely-unhinged-epic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/marty-supreme-review-one-absolutely-unhinged-epic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Marty Supreme\u2019 Review: One Absolutely Unhinged Epic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet has been selling performances ever since his breakthrough turn in 2017\u2019s \u201cCall Me by Your Name.\u201d Whether they\u2019ve been true standouts (\u201cDune\u201d) or less than stellar (\u201cA Complete Unknown<\/a><\/span>\u201d), the 29-year-old actor, even still at what feels like early on in his career, has been eager to reach the heights of undeniable critical acclaim as a serious movie star.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chalamet said as much in his now-famous SAG Awards acceptance speech<\/a> earlier this year, in which he proclaimed that he was \u201cin pursuit of greatness,\u201d evoking the names of \u201cgreats\u201d like Viola Davis, Marlon Brando and Daniel Day-Lewis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That may very well be Chalamet\u2019s outlook on his accomplished film profile. He also could\u2019ve been emulating his over-confident character Marty Mauser from his latest big-screen offering, \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d the frenzied, 1950s-set pingpong affair from \u201cUncut Gems\u201d co-director Josh Safdie, which hits theaters Christmas Day. In it, Chalamet plays an egotistical, entitled and pretty charming young man, who, like the actor\u2019s speech, goes through hell and high water \u201cin pursuit of greatness\u201d as a pingpong prodigy, so the movie\u2019s vague synopsis says. That description eventually becomes clear over the movie\u2019s extensive 149-minute runtime, though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chalamet is on record hyping up what he considers a career-best performance<\/a> in the film. And while that\u2019s still debatable, I will admit that he\u2019s quite a spectacle in this absolutely unhinged epic (it certainly gives \u201cUncut Gems\u201d a run for its money) that goes completely off the rails, as we soon learn just how far Chalamet\u2019s Marty is willing to go to achieve said greatness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Let me paint the picture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Marty Mauser doesn\u2019t necessarily need a championship title to confirm that he\u2019s the greatest table tennis player in the world. The New Yorker knows that. He gloats about that. And takes every opportunity he can to remind anyone who will listen that he was born to be excellent at the sport. Still, that doesn\u2019t stop the narcissistic young man from relentlessly pursuing his dream at any and all costs to his morals and reputation, even when it seems like the universe is doing its damnedest to prevent it from happening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That premise fuels the unbridled momentum of \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d a story that begins as a portrait of an impassioned dreamer and gradually shifts into a cautionary tale about the cost of failure, which Safdie co-wrote with longtime collaborator Ronald Bronstein. As the story follows Marty on several dummy missions, that throughline gets a bit muddled at times. Frankly, the film would have benefited from trimming down a handful of scenes to tighten up what becomes less a sports movie and more a compelling character study.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Much of that impact stems from Chalamet\u2019s portrayal of his fast-talking, endlessly persuasive character who\u2019s always buzzing with energy, even when doing something as simple as selling shoes in his uncle\u2019s tiny store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Of course, that\u2019s not what Marty wants to spend his days doing. He\u2019d rather hustle at an underground table tennis club or, better yet, play in an international tournament so his skills can finally be recognized on a global scale. But in post-war America, respect for the sport is scarce, even for a gifted player like Marty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But as mentioned, nothing and no one can stand in his way when greatness is on the line. Not even Marty\u2019s heavily pregnant (and married) girlfriend, Rachel (another standout role for \u201cI Love L.A.\u201d star Odessa A\u2019zion), or his overbearing mother (Fran Drescher), or his boss\/uncle (Larry Ratso Sloman), who\u2019d rather see him stay on as manager of his store than chase a futile dream. Marty will con whoever he needs to \u2014 including a Hollywood starlet (a big-screen return for Gwyneth Paltrow) and her hard-ass, wealthy mogul husband (\u201cShark Tank\u201d judge Kevin O\u2019Leary) \u2014 and force a rematch with his fiercest competitor (Koto Kawaguchi) just to make his ambitions a reality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s the nature of Marty Mauser and, in essence, \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d and what makes the film such a chaos-fueled adventure from start to finish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are several scenes I think of off the top that capture that maddening energy, one involving Tyler Okonma, aka rapper Tyler, the Creator, in his impressive film debut, where he plays Marty\u2019s cab-driving partner-in-crime Wally. Without saying too much, just know the scene involves another table tennis scam, an angry mob, a runaway dog and a hasty escape from a gas station fire. Chaotic, right<\/em>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But seriously, I wouldn\u2019t mind seeing Okonma in more acting roles after this performance. A\u2019zion is equally riveting in her supporting role, to which she still manages to bring a spark by going toe-to-toe with Chalamet\u2019s Marty, and even outsmarting him in one memorable instance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But make no mistake, the most convincing performance in \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d belongs to Chalamet. And deservedly so, because even though he\u2019s obviously selling us hard on this joyride of a star turn, compared to others, this one is actually worth buying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMarty Supreme\u201d is in theaters.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n