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Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

Play trailer 1:21 Poster for Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game Released Mar 17, 2023 1h 31m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
An unsettled writer with a fantastic mustache, ROGER SHARPE (Mike Faist), finds solace and confidence in one thing he has mastered: pinball. When a police raid destroys the only machines he can find in 1970s New York City, he learns the game is illegal. Roger reluctantly joins forces with the Music and Amusement Association to overturn the ban while falling in love with ELLEN (Crystal Reed), an artist and single mother. Roger's path to save pinball ultimately rescues him. He and Ellen overcome their pasts and take a shot at love. Roger learns what it means to take a chance--and that commitment is the most rewarding gamble of all.
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Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

Critics Reviews

View All (19) Critics Reviews
Noel Murray Los Angeles Times Anyone interested in gaming history will find a lot to enjoy here; and the general niceness helps make what is essentially a fun 15-minute anecdote tolerable for 90. Mar 21, 2023 Full Review Sheila O'Malley RogerEbert.com "Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game" is strictly low stakes. This is part of its knowing charm. Rated: 3/4 Mar 17, 2023 Full Review Richard Brody The New Yorker I’d recommend not scrutinizing “Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game” too closely or too promptly, and simply savoring the unusual spectrum of artistic virtues that I found myself admiring—and admiring again, on a second viewing, purely for pleasure. Mar 16, 2023 Full Review John Serba Decider ... So damn delightful – it’s surprisingly witty, with an easygoing vibe, endearing characters and moderate, but never overbearing period nostalgia. Aug 14, 2023 Full Review Jason Delgado Film Threat Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game exemplifies the meaning of life in a way that higher profile, big-budget films should only aspire to. Rated: 9/10 Aug 7, 2023 Full Review Filipe Freitas Always Good Movies Pinball won’t be among your standard biopics but rather a favorably low-key portrait whose well-oiled mechanisms intend to divert as much as inform. Rated: 4/5 Apr 11, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (102) audience reviews
Ben D There’s an HBO short documentary (40 mins) about Andy Warhol’s “Brillo Box” that should be the template for many of these niche, biopic stories. I thought I had learned my lesson with Flamin’ Hot, but there I was again, fighting the urge to look at my phone as another predictable story unfolded before me. Although better than the one about hot Cheetos, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game, spends about half of the 90-minute runtime concerning a love story no one cares about. Give me significantly more history about pinball and its impact on American culture. Give me even more detail about its precarious legal status in different municipalities throughout the country. I do not care about Roger Sharpe’s (Mike Faist) relationship with his girlfriend’s child. I’ve seen that story already; I’ve never seen a story about pinball. Also, that mustache, come on. It looks like something a fraternity brother would wear at the last minute to a Halloween party. I also don’t know how I feel about the narrator-actor (Dennis Boutsikaris) playing the real-life person (Sharpe) walking around the same world as Faist also playing a younger Sharpe. The “courtroom” drama (actually, a city council meeting) was underwhelming, even though the writers made the funny decision to show that they could’ve Hollywoodified the scene, in reality, it was even more mundane than their tempered manifestation. It’s got an RT (94/93) with a decent amount of reviews, but this thing felt like a slog even at a paltry 90 mins. I don’t think this movie needs to exist. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/31/24 Full Review Kyle M Bizarre factuality leads to an absurdist narrative that functions just as playful when approaching the subject with innocently upbeat charisma scoring fun engagement. (B+) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/15/24 Full Review Harry N This movie was thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. It's about a man wih a passion for inanimate objecs - pinball machines - they became part of him I know the feeling. I played them for about 20 years myself. But it is so much more than that. It's a love story, one that you get you watch grow (if you read behind the lines just a bit), a story of risk, choices and more and the impact they will have on everyone's like. It is beautifully crafted movie that, like all very good movies, left me wanting more, to know more, of the people, the love characters and what their personal lives loked like during the years after the movie. Even if you've never played a pinball machine, yhere's something wrong with you if you don't love this movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/12/24 Full Review Cat-in-a-bag K Very enjoyable - romantic and funny Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/07/24 Full Review Audience Member Mike Faust is incredibly annoying and kinda ruined the movie Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/03/24 Full Review Ben A Great movie, makes what seems like a boring story very comedic and entertaining!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/24/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis An unsettled writer with a fantastic mustache, ROGER SHARPE (Mike Faist), finds solace and confidence in one thing he has mastered: pinball. When a police raid destroys the only machines he can find in 1970s New York City, he learns the game is illegal. Roger reluctantly joins forces with the Music and Amusement Association to overturn the ban while falling in love with ELLEN (Crystal Reed), an artist and single mother. Roger's path to save pinball ultimately rescues him. He and Ellen overcome their pasts and take a shot at love. Roger learns what it means to take a chance--and that commitment is the most rewarding gamble of all.
Director
Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg
Producer
Summer Crockett Moore, Tony Glazer, Stacey Parks, Lana Link, Rob Pfaltzgraff
Screenwriter
Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg
Distributor
Vertical Entertainment
Production Co
MPI Original Films, Choice Films
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 17, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 17, 2023
Runtime
1h 31m
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