Marty Supreme Review

January 12, 2026 by Max Vogel (‘26)

Marty Mauser is an employee of his family-owned shoe store on the lower east side of

Manhattan. He is also the second-ranked table tennis player in the world. The 2025 Golden

Globe nominated film – Marty Supreme, straps the audience into the passenger seat of Marty’s

wild ride to major success in ping pong or pure devastation.

Marty Mauser’s cocky and flamboyant personality make it impossible for him to take no as an

answer. While working at the shoe store, Marty has an affair with Rachel Mizler – another shop

owner. He plans to save up his money for a flight to London to compete in the 1952 British

Open. Even after working, he is still owed $700 at the shoe store and out of desperation, decides

to rob the store to pay for his flight.

At this part of the movie, Marty’s personality is revealed in its entirety, and the audience is given

the choice to either root for him to succeed with his wild dreams. Marty’s character makes

morally questionable decisions which adds to the plot but also turns much of the audience away.

In my opinion, making Marty’s personality this polarizing is an interesting choice for the

audience to make.

Marty breezes through every single round of table tennis with his high level of confidence until

he gets to the finals. His opponent is Koto Endo, a Japanese player with a unique style Marty is

unable to decipher. Koto ends up embarrassing Marty in front of the world, leaving him without

the prize money he was counting on, or the confidence he had prior.

During his time back in America, his focus immediately shifts towards getting to the next World

Championship in Japan. He is out for blood after being demolished by Endo but is back to rock

bottom too. He has no place to stay, and Rachel has been kicked out by her husband. Marty starts

picking up odd jobs to make money after arrogantly rejecting Milton Rockwell’s offer to hire

him.

He takes money from an injured man, promising to bring his dog to the vet but instead ends up

losing the dog and winning money by wagering it on table tennis. He gets a job as a halftime

performer for the Harlem Globetrotters to keep himself afloat, but he still isn’t making the $1500

necessary for the trip to Japan. In a last-ditch attempt, Marty goes back to Rockwell to ask for

forgiveness and a trip on his private jet. Rockwell obliges but not without properly humiliating

Marty in front of his friends.

While in Japan, Marty figures out there is an eligibility issue barring him from being able to

compete. This means his only chance of getting to play Endo is during the exhibition match.

After two very hard-fought games, Marty comes out on top, defeating Endo.Other than Marty’s personality being a bit hard to appreciate due to his cocky and unpredictable

nature, I enjoyed this film as it left no dull moment and was energetic the whole way through.

The acting by Timothée Chalamet and many others was impeccable as was the cinematography

and storyline. The whole movie was riveting while at the same time leaving room for character

development – a balance lots of modern movies struggle to achieve.