Faist gives Roger a Midwestern charm that belies his insecurities. Roger is portrayed as a man who has not taken many chances, yet the pinball game represents all the risks he has not taken in his life. After his failed marriage, Roger is hesitant but has strong feelings for Ellen and gets along well with Seth. Ellen, a single mother with an 11-year-old son named Seth (Christopher Convery), does not want a casual relationship but aspires to get remarried. The two leads share an easygoing dynamic from the outset that presents them as partners. The chemistry between Mike Faist and Crystal Reed works best in Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game. It is a fun way to tweak the story for the viewers who may need an entry into the world of pinball wizardry. Sharpe stops a scene by asking what MPAA rating the filmmakers are going for and insists on saving their lone f-bomb for later. He insists on setting the record straight whenever the dramatic license becomes too much. Boutsikaris, boasting a mustache a bit less imposing than the push-broom on Faist’s face, calls out the directors whenever the film takes a cliche or melodramatic bend. Sharpe appears in the flashback sequences as an invisible presence within the scenes featuring Faist as his younger self. Sharpe regales them with the story surrounding his historic pinball shot but first must give context to how he got to that point in his life. Sitting in an interview setting with the filmmakers off camera, Mr. While Faist plays Roger in the 1970s, the film opens with Better Call Saul actor Dennis Boutsikaris as the elder Mr. This would have made for an interesting story, but writer/directors Austin and Meredith Bragg use fourth-wall-breaking narration to add a whimsical element to this project. The concept of the film centers on the Babe Ruth-esque called shot that Roger made in City Hall that overturned the legislation, something that not many people know about. Roger, a pretty good pinball player, begins writing a book about the games and gets embroiled in the campaign to legalize them. Roger also finds a pinball machine at a local adult bookstore, unaware that the machines are illegal in New York City after a ban in the 1940s that considered them gambling devices run by the mob. When he meets Ellen (Crystal Reed) and lands a job at GQ Magazine, things seem to be headed in the right direction. Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game stars West Side Story breakout Mike Faist as Sharpe, recently divorced and struggling to find a job as a writer. It also happens to be a rousing feel-good story told in an interesting way. But did you know pinball was illegal for over three decades in New York and other major American cities? The new film Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game chronicles how one man, Roger Sharpe, helped change how the machines were viewed with one amazing shot. Some view it as an antique pastime or a relic of the pre-video game era, but pinball has grown in popularity over the last few years. Our founder, JoBlo himself, is a huge fan of the game and even served as a producer on a documentary about them called Arcade Dreams. REVIEW: If you are a longtime reader of this website, you may notice we tend to post about pinball machines. Roger learns what it means to take a chance-and that commitment is the most rewarding gamble of all. He and Ellen overcome their pasts and take a shot at love. Roger’s path to save pinball ultimately rescues him. Roger reluctantly joins forces with the Music and Amusement Association to overturn the ban while falling in love with Ellen, an artist and single mother. When a police raid destroys the only machines he can find in 1970s New York City, he learns the game is illegal. PLOT: An unsettled writer with a fantastic mustache, Roger Sharpe, finds solace and confidence in the one thing he has mastered: pinball.
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