“Marty Supreme,” starring and produced by Timothée Chalamet, brings the story of ping-pong player and real life hustler Marty Reisman to life and is now one of A24’s highest-grossing films. While it has been out for less than a month, Chalamet has seen nothing but love from fans and critics as he recently won “Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy” at the Golden Globes and the “Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor” at the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Although the movie seems to be a huge success, there is definitely some extreme backlash.
Alongside the many awards “Marty Supreme” has already been nominated for and received, it has a 94% rotten tomato score, showing significant viewer support. Many reporters and fans of Chalamet argued that his performance made the movie, saying his skills as an actor were the only thing keeping them hooked. Junior Lila McElroy shared her positive opinion of the movie.
“I think that Timothée Chalamet had a great performance and conveyed an impactful message to the movie’s viewers. I personally loved the movie and feel like I would give it a high rotten tomatoes score too if I could do that,” McElroy said. “Timothee is the best actor and anything that he is in immediately is a great film in my eyes.”
Other NVD students had mixed feelings about the movie as a whole.
“‘Marty Supreme’ deserves a bad Rotten Tomato rating because the ending was pointless. The whole story was built up for it to just end like that,” junior Zoe Gatanas said. “I like Timothée Chalamet and typically enjoy all his movies, this just wasn’t my thing.”
Alongside criticism of the plot of “Marty Supreme,” viewers critiqued Chalamet’s character Marty Mauser’s attitude and ego. Some argued he was unlikeable and his character was infuriating, but others noticed his passion and drive which was a direct cause of his behavior.
“I actually found the main character to be likeable, contrary to popular opinion. I think that I understood his pursuit and that he needed to do all of the things he did in order to be great,” McElroy said. “I understand why people see him as a bad guy, but I really don’t think so.”
While “Marty Supreme” has become a viral sensation, some are still debating if watching the movie is worth it.
“I definitely still want to see it, but honestly with all the mixed reviews I’m just gonna wait until it’s not in theaters anymore,” junior Harlow Kochnover said.
The movie itself has definitely gone viral on its own, but Chalamet has been seen surrounded by security guards with large, orange masks on their heads, made to resemble ping-pong balls for publicity purposes. Additionally, NAHMIAS, a popular streetwear brand, released a collaboration with A24 and began selling “Marty Supreme” wind-breaker jackets.
“I feel like they’ve been shoving this movie in our faces,” junior Shelly Koblenz said. “Everything I see is ‘Marty Supreme’ and I feel like I’ve been seeing ads for the movie since like September. Honestly, it definitely worked because now I feel like I need to see it.”
