Sports drama "Marty Supreme" Addicted to success - Timothée Chalamet electrifies as a ping-pong junkie
In the hectic sports drama "Marty Supreme", a shoe salesman dreams of becoming the best ping-pong player in the world. Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet is in top form as an anti-hero addicted to success.
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- Director Josh Safdie drew inspiration for "Marty Supreme" from the life of real table tennis legend Marty Reisman.
- In this fast-paced sports drama, a New York shoe salesman wants to become the best table tennis player in the world - and becomes a crook, liar and cheat in the process.
- Lead actor Timothée Chalamet displays incredible energy and is almost unbearable as the megalomaniacal anti-hero.
- "Marty Supreme" will be shown at blue Cinema from February 26, 2026.
Never before has an actor or actress been so involved in the promotion of their own film as in the case of "Marty Supreme".
This began well in advance, when Hollywood's hottest actor Timothée Chalamet proudly announced that he had been training intensively in table tennis for years for his new role. The lavish promo really took off last fall.
Suddenly Chalamet was appearing everywhere in gaudy "Marty Supreme" hoodies and windbreakers. In public, he trumpeted how outrageously good this new sports drama about an ambitious ping-pong player was.
Climax at the Sphere in Las Vegas
And the marketing reaches its climax when he climbs onto the huge futuristic event hall "Sphere" in Las Vegas to loudly announce the cinema release of "Marty Supreme" on Christmas Day.
Naturally, the video goes viral on his social media channel. Chalamet also takes part in the marketing meetings for his film himself - and posts a video of it online.
Our video review above shows what the whole madness looks like.
The story of the sports drama itself explains why this megalomaniacal form of marketing for "Marty Supreme" makes sense. It can also be seen as a critique of the American Dream.
Success at any price
Chalamet embodies Marty Mauser, who is vaguely inspired by the real-life table tennis legend Marty Reisman. The Jewish-born shoe salesman from New York has a big dream: he wants to become the best ping-pong player in the world.
To realize this dream, he will use any means necessary, no matter how reprehensible. Marty steals money from his own business to finance his participation in major tournaments. Marty is a liar, a cheat and his dealings with women are not exactly praiseworthy.
No matter how well-disposed his opponent is, he simply tries to rip everyone off in order to pave his way to success.
Marty makes it to the final of the British Open in London - but he has no chance against the Japanese player Koto Endo. Marty goes completely berserk and is excluded from the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo. His affair with Hollywood diva Kay Stone could help him to make participation in the World Championships possible after all.
An anti-hero who disgusts and fascinates at the same time
With its hectic, dark production and anti-hero character, "Marty Supreme" is more reminiscent of a gangster movie or crime thriller than a sports drama.
The Safdie brothers Josh and Benny ("The Smashing Machine") from New York do not present light fare with their films - as their earlier works "Good Time" and "Uncut Gems" clearly show.
The central characters in her films are con artists and fraudsters who drive people mad with their ways. In "Marty Supreme", Josh Safdie once again takes this quality to a more intense level.
Marty's megalomaniacal behavior is nauseating to watch, but at the same time his passion, determination and cleverness make him fascinating. This makes "Marty Supreme" thought-provoking and raises exciting moral questions. Chalamet's portrayal is simultaneously obnoxious and irresistible.
"MartySupreme" opens in cinemas on February 26.
