Midweek Mention... Marty Supreme

Marty Supreme

Dan: I blame Chris For for everything really. For not bringing back Danny Olemo, for the

Sidey: the noms- That is a, that is a hammer blow ... that is, yeah. That is a fucking hammer.

Reegs: you have actually procured some?

Sidey: I

Cris: have if I would have had the luggage, like the, the, you know, not just... I only had hand luggage,

Sidey: especially

Cris: the way back. I went through Amsterdam on the way to Romania, but on the way back I went through Luton, and I only had EasyJet and that,

Reegs: You couldn't smuggle some about your person?

Cris: No. Not, no.

Dan: slipped

Sidey: quite big to, in your trousers ... to conceal anywhere.

Reegs: Yeah.

Sidey: Um-

Dan: is of course the bottle of wine that we look after. But we do have a bottle of Primitivo up there-

Sidey: We do. Which is, Now the summer's over, we can get back on the red wine. Yeah.

Dan: it. One, one cloudy day today is putting an end to the heat waves. Which links in just so nicely to this- Yeah ... this, Are we doing-

Sidey: This is Marty Supreme, yeah. This is- Marty Supreme. Yeah, this is- Supreme ... so there's, there's been, like, maybe a divorce with the Safdie brothers? 'Cause one did... So Josh Safdie did this, and the other one- Benny ... did the one with The Rock.

Reegs: Yes.

Sidey: Which was a big floppy, wasn't it?

Reegs: was a big floppy, was a

Sidey: but this one's- And

Reegs: starring in Christopher Nolan's movie now as, I think, Agamemnon, the really scary- Oh,

Cris: yes. I've... Yeah. Have you seen that

Reegs: I haven't. No. No, I watched it- I still

Cris: it in IMAX in

Reegs: Oh,

Sidey: trailer. Ooh. And I thought that that was really

Cris: good. I watched it with my mom and dad, and mind you, these are two people in their 70s. And my dad, after watching that, he's like, "We should do this a monthly thing, and we just come here and..." To my mom. And I was like, "Fucking hell, Dad, calm

Sidey: down." He,

Cris: honestly, he loved it.

Sidey: Film buff. It's three hours

Cris: the, in the- Yeah ... you know, in the chair and that. So

Sidey: for f- Was it nice comfy stuff? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's

Dan: like, I- Back seat?

Cris: You, you can

Sidey: do the back seat.

Cris: I didn't really care about that because it was comfortable

Sidey: enough. Yeah.

Cris: I didn't wanna fall

Sidey: asleep-

Dan: just where all the kissing goes on at

Reegs: I was gonna say, yeah, the backseat

Sidey: my mom and dad. I don't wanna kiss

Reegs: don't wanna kiss anyone. Yeah, exactly. The chances of pulling are quite high.

Dan: wanna kiss anyone, so. Yeah, exactly. The chance- I don't know what you get up to in Romania. Stays in Romania on the

Cris: back seat. Yeah.

Sidey: Okay. But in any case, this is Marty Supreme. Yeah. I didn't watch it.

Reegs: I also didn't watch it, and I missed it on the, the group chat, and I was a bit gutted because I fancied this. It's got Chalamet in, Zendaya, And that title was quite intriguing to me as well.

Cris: No, it's not? Zendaya No. Who's- It's got Gwyneth Paltrow. It's got Odessa Young. They've

Reegs: is it?

Cris: got Kevin O'Leary, Abu Fra- Fran Drescher,

Sidey: Oh, The Nanny.

Dan: Chalamet, of course, is

Cris: Yeah. Timothée Chalam- Chalamet is the- He's

Sidey: Chalamet is the-

Reegs: the big draw.

Cris: yeah, he's

Sidey: Marty Well- Yeah Supreme

Reegs: Supreme,

Cris: basically.

Sidey: to, talk to us about it. Go on, then. What's it... Is it- I think you'll find that there is only one Marty, and it's McFly, but, We will, it's based around

Cris: of Marty Mausa, right?

Dan: right? Marty Mauser Can you remember how it starts? I

Sidey: Yeah, it's in the shoe shop. He's...

Cris: It's him and the other

Sidey: guy that works- Yeah ... in

Cris: the shoe shop. He's ... There's a woman that tries some shoes, and he's ... You can see that he's selling it to her. He's like, "Oh, we don't have these, but I'll, I'll get you the 9

Sidey: and a half," or whatever. Yeah.

Cris: then this young girl comes into the shop, and he's like, "Oh, I bought these shoes from you yesterday." And he goes to the other guy that works with him, "Oh, can you serve this lady? I'll serve this new young ... The, the young one." And he

Sidey: just goes

Dan: and- Well, she- that's right. She, she had left. She said, "Oh, I've left my shoes my old shoes. I think you might put them away. I walked out in the new shoes, so can I have the old ones back?" And he go, "Oh, I'll go and have a look for them in the back." But as soon as they get out there yeah, they're getting it on. And it actually follows a, a sperm- Oh, right ...

Sidey: oh, right going, Look Who's Talking. L-

Dan: L- yeah, sort of like s- and it follows that on the title one- Yeah ... doesn't it? And the egg and everything. And and you... We learn that Marty's working in this shoe store. It's his... I think it's his mom's brother's place or something. Yeah. He, he- And they wanna turn him into a... Is the manager, don't they? Go, "Look at that card, like he should be impressed with it." And he's going, "Look, I told you I don't want this. I'm... Like I'm literally just getting the money so I can go to the championships."

Sidey: fame and fortune.

Dan: He, he wants to be the best of the best at ping pong, at

Sidey: tennis. Don't we all? this just- No Premier League for me ... his- Ping pong all the

Dan: You know, this is him walking on the moon. This is him, his NBA championship. This is his World Cup. This is everything. And everything he does is seen through a lens like

Cris: this is exactly that style of hustler, American hustler, New York hustler, where everything is the, the next one. I'm gonna ... this is the next big hit. This is the n- I'm gonna g- ... This time I'm gonna make it. This time it's gonna ha- ... Like for him, it's uh, whatever debt he gets himself into, the police chases him

Sidey: a couple

Cris: times, blah, blah, blah,

Sidey: blah, whatever. he also ... that's, that's the

Cris: where he's tells the uncle, "I'm leaving on a boat tomorrow.

Sidey: I'm going for lunch.

Cris: Have my money ready for when I come

Sidey: back." Mm. Mm. And he takes a three-hour lunch.

Dan: At least. Yeah.

Cris: He goes for lunch, chats with this

Sidey: girl, chats

Cris: other people, comes back, the uncle's gone. No money.

Dan: He's, been chatting to, These he's trying to get sponsorship deals, so he's been chatting to the newspaper men and writing articles. I mean, some of the stuff he comes out with just, like, unbelievable. He goes... He makes some f- like, remark about Auschwitz and says, "I'm gonna give this guy worse

Cris: than-" That's, that's not- "... than they did me." They're not yet

Dan: get on." But he's, he's a real nasty character actually. Yeah. Like, so selfish anyway. He's, like, so kind of driven and selfish. Yeah. He can't see anything other than his- He, the...

Reegs: He goes

Sidey: back to the

Cris: next boat to Europe because he's the, or

Sidey: to, yeah, to London

Cris: because of the world championships of ping pong in London. Right. And he goes back to get the money, and it's only the, his other colleague. His, the, the shop owner is gone, and the guy's putting the money in the safe. Yeah. And as soon as he walks in, the guy locks the safe, and Marty goes, "Mate, I just want the money. I'm not... I, if anything..." And he pulls out the gun from his uncle's drawer. "If anything, just tell them I robbed you at gunpoint, and you give me the money." And the guy's like, "Well, no, I'm not gonna do that." Because he, he just points the gun at him. He's like, "You do what I say. I'm not gonna shoot you. Just tell them I robbed you at gunpoint."

Dan: And he shows him the card, doesn't he? He goes, "Look, they wanna make me manager. You should be manager. You, you born for this. You're actually motivated to get this done." He said, "I wanna be manager." And he goes, "I'm out the way. I'm gonna be, like..." It's the British championship he's going for, which is the biggest championship, like, other than the worlds. He goes, "I'm gonna be famous. I'm not gonna need this, but you can be the man." So this guy agrees to give him the, the money and,

Sidey: And then he goes to London

Dan: and then he goes to London. They've all got their their paddles on show. And he's representing America, and they've got everyone. At one point, he glances over to a guy next to him who's another American, I think, Yeah ... who's representing as well, who was previously world champion. And he goes, "Oh, Japanese are here." and he goes must have lifted the travel ban." So you know, like, they've heard about the Japanese playing, and sure enough, as they go through the championship it looks like it's gonna be... It's like Cobra Kai.

Sidey: Yeah. You can

Dan: who's getting

Reegs: the head-to-head coming. You can

Dan: the head-to-head. You can see the head-to-head. It, he's he sees their Gwyneth Paltrow though, doesn't he?

Sidey: Yeah.

Reegs: What is the tone of this movie? I'm sort of getting all, all... It's like comedy, is it? Or it's

Cris: No, it's quite serious. Yeah.

Dan: It's 1950- It's war,

Cris: I'm gonna

Sidey: say.

Dan: around that time. It's war, '56 ... and yeah, no, it's, it's

Sidey: a-

Dan: a kind of- It's a gritty

Sidey: So gritty kind of- Gritty,

Dan: very dark- Yeah,

Cris: filmed dark as

Dan: like that's it, ve- like lighting-wise very dark sometimes. You n- you'd need to watch it in a dark room, so the, the little light they're

Sidey: That really

Dan: it-

Reegs: me off 'cause-

Dan: yeah, sometimes you just,

Reegs: Can't

Sidey: And what does it, does it light up when Gwyneth's on the, on the

Dan: So when she makes her kind of debut through, that's when he's talking to these,

Cris: Yeah to the journalists, yeah ... journalists. Because... Sorry to interrupt, but because when he gets there, the, all the athletes are put in a pretty much a shit hole. Right. And he goes to the president of the Ping Pong Federation. He's like, "Well, I'm a world superstar. I'm..." He, honestly, he talks like he's- Yeah ... you know, like he's a

Sidey: player or a, Yeah ...you know, or- Yeah, like he's already made it

Cris: like, "Oh, you should be... Where are you staying? At The Ritz?" He's like, "Well, I should be staying at The Ritz." And next scene, he's at The Ritz. He's got the room, whatever, and

Sidey: then that's where

Cris: he sees Gwyneth Paltrow- Yeah ... because she's not mingling with,

Sidey: The riffraff. Yeah ... you know, commoners. Yeah.

Dan: She's actually a famous,

Sidey: actress,

Cris: no?

Dan: Actress who's like had her best days, but everybody knows

Sidey: Bit like Gwyneth Paltrow.

Dan: Bit like Gwyneth Paltrow ... bit like Gwyneth Paltrow. But as he kind of looks her going through, he catches her eye and he gets her number and he calls her, and his confidence is off the chart. He's going, "Hi, I caught your eye. You caught my eye today in the lobby. I'm just calling you. You might heard me. Look at page 12 in the Daily Mail. There I am." Like, you know, "The- yeah, that's me." And she's just kind of won over, I guess, by the fact, one, that she's got a really boring husband who's a businessman,

Cris: millionaire,

Dan: a millionaire. And, and two, that she's just bored of, of this kind of life and he's a little bit exciting

Sidey: and He's Mm.

Reegs: He's quite a lot younger

Dan: he's- He's quite a lot younger

Sidey: He's,

Cris: Yeah. he's, he's

Dan: than her ... he's a

Cris: 23, and she's, I don't know,

Reegs: 40s 40s. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a bit-

Dan: and so she kind of flattered, I guess, by the attention in some way or shape, and he's saying, "Look look out the window there." There's a fruit bowl across the street and he goes, "If there's an apple that's gonna end up on that bowl, you'll go out with me," or something. She said, "No, I won't." But it appears, like, you know.

Sidey: and- throws the apple from his room to the other room, whatever, yeah ... and she

Dan: goes, "Okay, well..." She, they end up meeting and she's intrigued. He leaves her a ticket to her to see the, the semifinals of the, the table tennis, where he's playing his friend to get into the final. Yeah. And he's way up.

Sidey: What are

Reegs: What are the table tennis sequences like?

Dan: So it's, do you know, like, Raging Bull? It's not like that. It, it, it's, No, they're, they're, they're quite good and he's obviously

Cris: Yeah They are quite good, to be fair. I do think there's a, there's a level of CGI in it because I don't think he plays all those

Sidey: Yeah shots.

Dan: he's got a double.

Cris: double. Or,

Sidey: yeah, or he's got,

Reegs: like, something-

Dan: might, he must have a double- ... someone else's body

Sidey: else's body or something

Dan: because those, tho- those, those shots are definitely possible to be played. And he plays I think he's- 20 points, 21 a game, you know. So he's 20 points to four up or five up against his friend, and he goes, "Let's make the next point kind of entertaining."

Sidey: Is this Bela? And, Yes. Bela. Yeah, because that's- Bela Karolyi

Dan: And he's doing it under his legs, behind the back, and he's, he sort of, he loses that point, but it's,

Reegs: They're being a bit flamboyant they're

Cris: Yeah, it's

Dan: Yeah. He's a bit flamboyant ... they're, they're getting f- flamboyant. He doesn't really care. Yes. And he, he wins the next point, and they hug, and he's friends, and it just kind of, you know, he sees himself as kind of

Reegs: Marty supreme Jack Nicholson

Dan: or the, or might as,

Sidey: Trans- he wants to transcend it, does he? Yeah. E- exactly. More than just the-

Dan: And he, he's had ideas about a different colored ball, an orange ball. So he says, "Look, white against white you can't see it, but an orange ball..." And he's got one of his guys that he works with. Again, he's, everybody knows he's taking advantage for, from in some way, shape, or form, and it's no different

Reegs: a cynical way or just b- in the pursuit

Dan: in, in a, in the pursuit of his dream, in a cynical way-

Cris: But he is selfish

Dan: way. He knows what he's doing. Yeah. He has it, like the, the girl that he met at the beginning. Yeah. She's married but he doesn't give a fuck. He, he's, he's off. You know, the Kay Stone, Gwyneth Paltrow yes, he's infatuated with her a little bit, or she is with him at the beginning, but he's just looking about, you know, what he can get from her. His friend that he plays table tennis, it's just to, he knows he's better than him, so he just wants to shove it in this guy's face. But then they get to the final against Endo the Japanese guy who's got this different paddle.

Sidey: Different paddle,

Cris: also he holds the, the style that we

Sidey: all, that, like,

Cris: professionals hold it now. And

Reegs: Dan's demonstrating for all the

Sidey: Whereas- With, with with,

Dan: with with a,

Cris: whereas he's, he Marty holds the, the pal- the palette or whatever you call it- Paddle ... the paddle the way we would hold it,

Sidey: right? Yeah, yeah.

Cris: But the, the Japanese guy

Sidey: has the- Yeah, they hold it, they hold it strange, yeah proper grip.

Cris: The professional grip,

Sidey: And- Yeah.

Reegs: And what's different about the paddle itself? paddle.

Sidey: I

Cris: it's got some-

Dan: foam side, one hard side. You know, whereas you think in the 1950s it would've just been two kind of foam paddle sides. He's got a harder side, so

Reegs: so he's able to spin more- So is this a bit like when Ivan Drago's got all of the latest

Dan: equipment Exactly. Exactly. This is this is a different way, and as he goes on to lose this game in the final- Yeah ... and get well beat- Yeah ... as Endo has done with everybody else- Yeah

Reegs: Yeah ... he,

Dan: he's losing it. He's kind of,

Reegs: Oh

Sidey: yeah, he throws a

Cris: at the end. He, he goes,

Reegs: full on- Well, he's had to realize he's not the best. Yeah,

Cris: He basically does a

Dan: But he can't admit that he's not the best. He, he hasn't got room to admit in his mind he's not the best. There's an excuse why he didn't win. Yeah. He didn't have a real paddle this, that, and the other. And so the film kinda goes through him then trying to battle to get to Japan for the world championships to

Reegs: to prove- To face Endo on his home turf. Yeah. This really is like The Karate Kid now, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

Dan: And he's getting in all kinds of scrapes, so he's got a hustle going on to get the money back with a taxi driver friend of his. And they all go in. One of them will pretend he's really shit at table tennis. Oh, okay. The other one will... He- he'll come in and... You know, there's no internet around.

Sidey: knows- No, it's like "White Men Can't Jump" ... who he is.

Reegs: That's like back in the day, yeah. Yeah

Dan: And so he's a little bit

Reegs: in this film Bit of hustling going on

Sidey: Yeah, that's cool, yeah. yeah ...

Dan: for a sports movie, you know, it, it's... I like a sports movie, but this wasn't that. Just because he is so unlikable as a character-

Reegs: Marty Supreme.

Dan: Mighty Supreme. And he ends up trying to, you know, do the, the scam to get more money in this, and he- it works, but then there's that scene where it's inevitable they catch up with him. They see them together. They're gonna beat the shit out of him.

Sidey: So is she funding him? not

Dan: at this point. Not yet, no. But eventually she does. Yeah. Yeah, even- because he's run out of options,

Reegs: Hey, Gwyneth Paltrow.

Cris: went to hustle up with he- Yeah. he went to hustle, he went to hustle these guys with a with a, to play table tennis

Sidey: in some- Right ... area,

Cris: and that's when they got found and beat. He tries to... And also he's fined for all the events in London. He's banned from the world championships- Oh ... and he's fined $1,500 because he, he- racked up- Ooh, that's a lot in 1950 ... he racked up a tab at the Ritz because he was sending champagne to people and all sorts. He, and he refused to pay. Legend. And all the stuff that he did, it all caught up with him. Yeah. He tried to hustle to do all that. These guys beat him up, so the only option is now to just kind of-

Sidey: Cap in hand

Dan: In one scene, he's having a bath at a really cheap,

Sidey: Does he his dick? you don't. No.

Dan: But he's at a really cheap, grotty kind of hotel. Hotel, yeah. And the bath falls through the floor- All right ... onto the guy below-

Sidey: it's like Breaking Bad ... who's washing dog

Dan: in the bath and breaks his arm. Ugh. So this guy, he's like, "Look after my dog," like, as he's- Yeah ... wrapping up his arm, and he goes, "No, no, I've got a job. Like, I'm not gonna do it." And he goes, "Look, look." He, he opens his bag, and it's- It's full of money ... full of money, and he goes, "Take, you know, $50. I'll pay you triple whatever your job was gonna give you, like, you know, and just look after my dog. It's like family." He doesn't do anything. He just sort of-

Cris: He takes the dog with him.

Dan: Takes the dog with him ... takes the dog with him- Yeah but he's just trying to turn that money into more money so he can get onto this trip and everything. The dog escapes during one of the fights.

Reegs: of dog is it?

Dan: it? It's like,

Cris: it doesn't... It's, like a...

Sidey: Mongrel? it's a

Cris: between a Lab and a German Shepherd. I

Dan: like a r- a

Sidey: a- Leopard ... a Ridgeback or

Dan: know? Something like that. A reach around. A reach around. It was called- ... Larry. No, Moses.

Cris: Moses. was actually his

Sidey: his name. Yeah.

Dan: Yeah so, we'll, we'll meet Moses later because this guy's a gangster that he's turned over.

Sidey: Oh, dear ... and know that's

Dan: gonna be

Cris: Something's gonna

Sidey: happen,

Dan: go- That's kinda always in the back of your mind as he goes through and he's

Sidey: You can only go on so long like this.

Reegs: He's gonna get closer and closer ... on the- He, he's ... Yeah, he's gonna get closer to criminality

Cris: after all these,

Sidey: the Gwyneth Paltrow's

Cris: comes to New York. And-

Sidey: we see her naked at all?

Cris: Not really,

Dan: no It's not There, there's some steamy scenes, but not,

Cris: not really

Sidey: Not interested. Not

Dan: hot, hot. And he's, yeah, he's having a, an affair with her. Her, her husband's-

Cris: he steals her necklace.

Dan: Yeah, he

Reegs: To pawn it or something

Dan: costume jewelry- Yeah ... he finds out.

Cris: tries to pawn it, but then when, when he pawns it, he's like, "Oh, And

Reegs: So everybody is a means to an end

Dan: to him. Oh, everybody. Yeah. A- and then he goes back to her and says, "Look, I stole this necklace off you. I'm so sorry, but I couldn't do

Sidey: Have you got one that's more valuable?

Dan: But you want it back. "I just, I just-" Yeah ... "I just did it," you know. And she goes, "I think that you took that to the pawn shop. They told you it was costume jewelry." And he goes, "It's costume jewelry? Oh, I didn't know that." Like, he fucking knows fully well.

Reegs: That because she doesn't have money, and it's all a sham,

Dan: loads of money. Oh. She's got loads of

Reegs: he's got- Loads of money. He's got no taste maybe. He can't- She, she's

Dan: just in a loveless marriage, and he's giving her attention, and she's... He's called her out. He goes, "W- look, I'm gonna be someone," he says. "I can't think of like, you know, anything else. I'm not like you. I haven't given up on my career." Like, you know,

Sidey: Ooh. He's just

Dan: real kind of bad-mouthing her and everything That's good And doesn't give zero fucks. It gets to It

Reegs: He's gotta get to

Dan: he gets to J- he gets to Japan- Yeah ... despite all the bullshit, d- despite the girl right at the beginning showing herself to be very pregnant. Her husband's pretty sure it's not him, despite him getting arrested for the r- armed robbery at the beginning that he did. Even though it was know, family business or whatever, they still kind of scare him and beat the shit out of him to to try and get the money back. But he makes it to Japan by begging G- Gwyneth Paltrow's husband

Reegs: Give me the money and I'll leave your wife alone

Dan: no give me, give me the mon- look, I made a big mistake. He actually wha- he goes, "Okay." He's just being an asshole. He said "I tell you what." His son died in, The war ... in the war. Yeah. And he goes "Look, y- just 'cause your son's dead it doesn't mean that my chances are..." So

Sidey: really bad- Wow

Dan: kind of... Worse than that though. Yeah. I can't remember what exactly he's saying. Yeah, I can't remember

Sidey: Yeah. I can't

Cris: what- Yeah, I can't remember the way he says this, but he's like, "At least I'm gonna, I'm gonna be the people that killed your son," or something like that, because he got killed by the Japanese, his son.

Dan: he's just like this guy. He's just like looking at him. He

Reegs: just like looking at him. He goes- Just really insensitive and- "You feel bad.

Dan: You hurt me saying that I wasn't gonna be the best in the world, and I hurt you back." He's tit for tat, and he's like, "No." What he said was like- Yeah ... "You're not gonna be the best in the world at ping pong." you've said something

Cris: Yeah. this is-

Dan: you know, his, his son that died in the

Reegs: combat- Yeah ... and shit. Yeah.

Dan: So, He begs anyway in front of

Sidey: all

Dan: his friends and everything. "Please, look, please." And he goes, "Okay. Tell you what, go to the office, get me the paddle, come back." "Take down your pants." whacks He goes, "How do I know that

Reegs: Ma- he whacked Marty's ass? Yeah,

Cris: he spanks him.

Sidey: arse. Yeah, his

Dan: he punches

Reegs: you see his ass? And he's actually- in ... getting hit?

Dan: And he's getting absolutely smacked. Oh, why

Reegs: did I miss this movie? How many times does he get whacked? Is it like Secretary? Well, he gets he gets at least one for his son, another one for him, another one for the insults, you know. So he goes- All right ... he goes, "I'm on a j- plane tomorrow."

Dan: And he goes, "How do I know if you, you're gonna let me on the plane tomorrow?" And he goes, "You don't. You don't, Marty." He goes, "'Cause you got no power here." Yeah. "It's up to you." Anyway, he does get on the plane. He goes, and one of the conditions of him going is that he's got to play in an exhibition match pre-tournament against

Cris: And he has to lose.

Dan: And he's got to lose. He's got, he's, he-

Reegs: do you mean? It's, it's

Cris: Yeah. it's an entertainment match. It's a-

Sidey: Because

Dan: Rockwell Pennz is going to be the, the promoter, and he's got to, write his name into the history books or whatever, this other guy, like, Endo's gonna win. It's in front of his home crowd. and- so he, he is kind of getting to the end now. So he's getting to this table at the front. They're in Japan, and he goes to Mr. Seti, who's the ping pong federation guy who he'd said about the hotel earlier in the movie, going, "Why are you putting me in

Reegs: in this shit hole?

Dan: you've got." And he goes, "I'm here for the championship, Mr. to say." And he goes, "You, fuck, you're He goes- "You're too late." "You're too late." And he goes, "We've made all the bracket." He goes, "Well, you just redo the brackets, like, I'm here. I'm actually here. I'm in Japan." He goes, "You know what I took to get me here?" And he

Reegs: Oh, don't give it. I don't give

Dan: Like, "Don't,

Reegs: don't"- Rules are the rules

Dan: He just closed. it, they play the the exhibition match and he's gotta lose 21 to 14 or 21, and, he actually loses 21 to 14. And they're like, No. He didn't throw it? No, he, he, he didn't. And I thought, oh, he's gonna try and play his way out here, like, you know. But they go, "No, he, he, he's played it," and they're all sort of clapping, and Endo's the best. And he goes, "Right, and now the loser has to kiss a pig- A pig on st- on

Sidey: stage."

Dan: And he's like-

Sidey: Sorry, what? "What?"

Reegs: Sorry?

Dan: Was, so who? What? And he goes, "Yes, we're gonna bring on the special guest now," and they bring out this big fucking pig and he's gotta kiss it on

Sidey: got to kiss it on stage.

Reegs: That's

Dan: And he's

Reegs: awesome. And he's

Dan: "No, no, it was a fix. It was a fucking fix. I'm not... I'm gonna play you now for real." And nobody wants it, but he goes to Endo, he goes, "Come on, let me, let me

Reegs: play you." I know, but we've already seen him lose twice

Dan: And he beats him, loses twice. Endo's deaf as well.

Cris: Yeah. That's, that's another one, that they said that he's so well focused on the movement of

Dan: he- It's all the

Sidey: of the ball that- Oh, 'cause he doesn't get distracted by, yeah ...

Dan: a, he's an absolute machine. But Endo goes, "Okay, I'll play you." "Yes, yes, he's gonna play me." So they play this epic game in which it's 2-1, or 3- Yeah ... you know, all the way through. Yeah. He even knows. You've gotta win by two points. And when he eventually gets to match point, 23-24, he's got the point. And he wins. He kind of collapses like you know, of the best.

Sidey: have been someone. He's,

Dan: he's, he's achieved. For him, he's like, "I've done it. I've proved myself." He wishes Endo all the best for the tournament. "I hope you go and win it and

Sidey: he fight the pig?

Dan: He leaves the pig alone. Yeah. Rockwell, Kay's husband is looking in the thing thinking, "You've totally fucked my plans here, and I'm gonna fucking hate on your life." there's a small group of American GIs in the crowd that all cheering for him- Yeah

Sidey: because- First come ...

Dan: he's, he's American. And he managed to hitchhike a lift

Cris: Because he was meant to go with Rockwell,

Sidey: but- Yeah ... he's like, "Fuck off,

Cris: not coming with me."

Reegs: No. Then,

Dan: then he remembers, "Oh, wait a minute. Just before I was going to Japan the, the girl that I got up the duff was actually in a massive shoot-" Like, there was a big gun fight and everything that had gone on. Yeah. Yeah. That's like how we do- Getting Moses back. The, the- Yeah ... with the gangster. It all kicked

Reegs: as left field as it sounds- Yeah the way it comes out? Yeah. Yeah, okay. And

Dan: it was, I mean, it was not as left field as it sound- As linear as the film ... as I've made it sound.

Sidey: No,

Cris: it's linear in the film,

Dan: it happened. Skits, yeah. It was always gonna happen with the gangster and the Moses. There was always gonna kick off, and it had just before. Instead of going to the hospital with her to see that she was okay and the baby was gonna be okay- Yeah ... he's fucked off to Japan-

Reegs: Yeah, I see. So these stories are happening at the

Dan: So he's just so focused- Yeah on being the b- When he gets back right, he hasn't got the big money deals. He hasn't got the promotions. He hasn't got the thing, but he knows himself that he's won, and he goes to the hospital, and for the first time, you see a bit of humanity in him that is, seems to be genuinely not thinking about himself when... Right at the last scene, isn't it? Yeah. He's just looking at the baby and through

Sidey: the glass- He comes as

Dan: they do in You know,

Reegs: Mm Oh, blimey. Well, what are we to think then? That he's what? Grown up or so- I don't know. What are we-

Dan: Well, the, the film for me was, I don't know. Think of Cristiano Ronaldo, like in his most- That would be a wrong player ... arsehole kind of, um- Ego-driven ... you know, ego-driven way- Yeah ... where he

Sidey: you know, ego-driven way. Yeah. Where

Reegs: he

Dan: doesn't give a fuck about anybody. He's

Reegs: single-minded- Single-minded ... dedication.

Dan: But he... Obviously, R- Ronaldo isn't anywhere near this guy

Sidey: near

Dan: Like, you know- He's not ... he's just a... He's no, he's nowhere near his level at ping pong. And but he's got absolutely pinpoint focus on what he needs to do to get to Japan, what he needs to do to get to the championship, what he needs to do to get to the best, and he'll fuck over any of his friends. He'll manipulate them. He'll... He's a really intensely unlikable character- Yeah. for me- Yeah ... anyway. And

Reegs: So then does that make it hard to watch? It can be hard to

Dan: Yeah ... someone's a dislikeable character. It was for me.

Reegs: Well, I don't

Sidey: for me. it was more that

Cris: It was- I don't, I don't know. I... For me, it was more that it was quite interesting because you, you wanna see when it all catches up with him because you know that there's- Yeah there's something gonna happen because you can't just keep doing that. You can't just keep

Sidey: And w- you want it to catch up with him.

Cris: Well, yeah, of course. But, but it's also y-y... you

Reegs: I- did it start- ... anyone

Sidey: so- that comes in, in, in con- initially you want him to... You're like, "Well, his uncle doesn't wanna give him the money. There's a relationship with the mom.

Cris: He still lives at home with the family. He's sleeping with his high school, with his childhood friend who's married to another guy that's actually his friend, and the guy knows."

Reegs: Yeah. S-

Sidey: so it's,

Cris: it's all these kind of things where you're like, initially you cheer for him, then you're like, "This guy's a bit of a dick."

Dan: all the tough conversations around that relationship he leaves to her to do. he, he passes her off as his sister. He

Sidey: says- ... "The kid's

Dan: not mine." He,

Reegs: Jeez

Cris: he-

Dan: Oh, ...

Reegs: he's really, really unpleasant.

Dan: p- he's a real piece of work. And it did for me make it a less enjoyable film because he's a distinctly unlikable character. Yeah. I've liked serial murderers more than him. Like Hannibal Lecter you like more than him. At least he had a bit

Reegs: Well, you do like him, don't you? Yeah.

Dan: Exactly. So but maybe the... You know, he's not a serial killer. He's just

Sidey: somebody- That we know of ... who's an asshole

Dan: and that he wants to be the best and actually he is very, very good at what he does, you know, at, at table tennis. There was this kind of paddle that was brought in that- maybe wasn't, you know, regulated in the way that all the other paddles. It was different to everybody else's. So, and he knew that given relatively a short amount of time,

Sidey: he's, he's

Dan: managed to get this guy's number and, and beat him in a game, albeit just one in this

Sidey: kind of a-

Dan: you know, entertainment game rather the, championships. But for him, that's justified it enough, almost everything that he's done.

Reegs: that he's done. But for, for a movie that's, like, about a sportsman dedicated to reaching the pinnacle of his career, there's, like, very little about the actual sport, right? It's mostly about him fucking over people

Cris: there's a bit of both, right? Because the journey is towards his goal, his goal being the ping pong, and there is the tournament in London, then there's the exhibition. He also performs at the halftime for the Harlem Globetrotters. All right. He performs these tricks. He plays ping pong with a-

Dan: And, well, he does all the- ... animals and- He does all the

Sidey: with a seal and

Reegs: all sorts. Okay.

Dan: are beneath him. He, he- Yeah ... because he has to. And even going back to Rockwell's, You know, he swallows his pride so many times. Yeah. He embarrasses himself. He does... You know, he, he can't enjoy all that he's done, but he is zero focus on getting to Japan, being the best, proving he's the best, and he'll do whatever it takes. It's a, it's a film about somebody who will do whatever it takes to make sure that he comes out on top and- Yeah ... fulfills his potential and purpose. Yeah. And he can't see, and he can't understand people that aren't seeing the same as him.

Reegs: How's Chalamet in it? Is he good?

Sidey: this was the second in his double run of, like, trying to get the Oscar, wasn't it? Yeah. 'Cause he did the Bob Dylan one- Yeah ... before this and it se- it seemed like a three-year campaign of trying to get, trying to get the best actor nod. So yeah, how was the

Cris: Oh, I thought he was good.

Dan: well, i- if you... I say I didn't like the character. It wasn't that he wasn't a, you know-

Reegs: Well, that sounds like he was being successful to me

Dan: successful in, in the sense of the, the film and the way. But I could see why this didn't get him the Oscar nod. I'd say- I

Sidey: think he tried too hard ...

Dan: it it was... Yeah, I mean, sometimes the u- the Dylan film, I thought was a better representation of a character and everything in. And maybe that's just 'cause it's me. I like Dylan and

Sidey: I think it was so obvious that it was such a big campaign to try and get that, and then that kind of turns people off a bit.

Dan: bit And even the the, the love interest with him and Gwyneth Paltrow. I mean, there's lots that we've missed out, 'cause it's quite a long movie, isn't it? Yeah. It, it's,

Sidey: it's, Two and a half hours.

Dan: the, you know, the, the, the difference in age and that, it looks a bit

Cris: It does look a

Dan: a little bit ... doesn't

Sidey: bit weird. Yeah. 'Cause well, I... Right, so I have a bit of a problem with Timothée Chalamet because he's such a fucking little-

Reegs: he's an ethereal little

Sidey: He's like a little pixie or something, and you're like, "This guy can't be the fucking, like, leading man for our age." No, look,

Cris: he was, he was really good. I'm, I'm gonna

Reegs: He's quite cool though ...be really short.

Cris: But the film itself, I thought, was really good in terms of the way it's filmed, in, in, as a time period, the, the, the whole thing. The ping pong scenes were good, but, and you can't really say they were CGI or not because you can't

Sidey: tell. No, I didn't care about that. That's good. in age what

Cris: is, and that's the, yeah, who the actors were chosen. For me it was more s- not strange, but the, the way he's portrayed as... for me, that's just ping pong. Yeah. Someone that has this, this illusion of grandeur, that, "I'm gonna be the best ping pong player." I, I understand this is the ping pong community and I understand there's people that is massive in Asia or is massive

Sidey: there- Mm ... but

Cris: this is the '50s in America where e- even the, there's a lot of people that are like, "Ping pong?"

Reegs: Yeah, I was thinking it's really niche.

Cris: are you so... And he, he has this almost like, like a baseball player that, let's say, I, I,

Sidey: you know- Yeah

Cris: or someone that's, some sport that's big in America. Yeah. He acts like he's-

Reegs: Like an MVP in basketball or

Cris: he's already a, a-

Reegs: a,

Dan: I'm gonna be on a Wheaties box, you

Sidey: No, not in America, cuz. Yeah. He's the guy,

Cris: gonna be on the Wheaties box." And you would think that he's the hu- the sprinter for the 100

Sidey: meters or-

Cris: whoever, the, the Jesse Owens guy, whatever. Y- you're playing ping pong, mate. No.

Sidey: No, I'm kidding.

Cris: because the whole thing is, "Oh, is this a ping pong f- association? I, I wanna stay at The Ritz." And I'm not saying this hasn't happened, because apparently it's all based on a book about a person that was

Sidey: real. Marty Reisman was the real guy, yeah. The Needle, they called him. For,

Cris: for me it was more, that, that was where it was a little bit not at the level of, of such a film because this guy's confidence in himself and, it, the arrogance of what he thought he was in the film was just... it's ping pong. Grow up." The film itself- was really well made, and the action is for, for me especially, for a two and a half hour film, it kept me o- Yeah

Sidey: Yeah, it's good I didn't

Cris: I didn't go watch- Or- ... make a cup of tea or whatever.

Sidey: whatever ... you know, Safdie, the Safdie brothers, and then obviously individually they're obviously good filmmakers. Good, yeah. And it's A24 as well. And it's A24 as well. It's A24 studio and

Reegs: Actually, a few times... Yeah, 'cause you m- say the Safdies, it was reminding me a little bit of, just the way you're describing it, of Uncut Gems a little bit in the way that-

Sidey: that's hustle constant hustle, isn't it?

Reegs: is gonna fall apart, you know, and all that sort

Dan: it has that kind of pacing for it, you know, where you feel that- The pressure ... it's gonna catch up with him, the pressure's gonna be there. There's so- there's something that are gonna come down. I think what, what Chris said you know, you could take ping pong, you could put anything in there. Somebody who wants something- Mm ... as bad as Marty wanted it- Yeah ... they can attain

Sidey: it- I guess he just wanted the fame and the, the rewards that go with it, and he just happened to be talented at ping pong. So- Yeah ... if he was talented at basketball, he would've gone down the basketball route. Yeah, exactly. It's just this is the thing that he was half-decent at. Budget for this between, let's say s- let's say it's 70 minutes, between 60 and 70, various sources. Do you think this was a hit or not?

Dan: a hit or not? I think it probably would've made money. The fact it's gone quite quick to Prime Video makes me think that,

Reegs: think this was a bit of a flop probably

Dan: I think it probably made that back though.

Sidey: Well, I agree with you. The, the fact that it's gone s- is it quickly though? 'Cause it was... It does seem... When you said it was on Prime- It seems quick I was like, "Wow, that's gone quickly to..." Yeah. But it, it made 191 million. I was gonna say, yeah, I, yeah,

Cris: I... Yeah, I was gonna say I

Sidey: 'Cause there was a lot of hype around the Oscars ... Oscar buzz. This, this was ... there's the Oscar buzz. A guy, a friend of mine at work, Jamie, he said this was fucking shit and it was pure Oscar bait. But he's very, he's very extreme with his opinions. So, I w- I will check it out. is Josh, is it? Josh Safdie. This is Josh Safdie.

Cris: another one. There's, there's Josh- and there's- No, but there's someone else that is not

Reegs: a Safdie. A co-director with

Sidey: Yes.

Cris: Ronald Bronstein.

Reegs: Okay. Bronstein. it's

Cris: By him and that.

Sidey: Oh, okay. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. And

Cris: the same writer for "Uncut Gems."

Reegs: Oh, well, there you go. This guy.

Sidey: guy. Collab.

Reegs: Yeah.

Sidey: Frequent collaborators. Okay. So would... On a, on a level of, like, recommend, where would it be? me. Mid recommend? Yeah. Mid and a strong. Strong recommend. And, Have we ever had a

Reegs: ever had a mid recommend

Sidey: before? We've had moderate recommends before. That's better. And then Riggs and I to be, to be decided. TVC.

Dan: I s- I still think the best Marty in in movies is McFly

Sidey: Yeah

Reegs: Not, not even the most supreme