Item: Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game
Rating: 7
Author: Alex Maidy

Last Updated on March 31, 2023

PLOT: An unsettled writer with a fantastic mustache, Roger Sharpe, finds solace and confidence in the 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, 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.

REVIEW: If you are a longtime reader of this website, you may notice we tend to post about pinball machines. 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. 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. As technology improves, so do the games. 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. It also happens to be a rousing feel-good story told in an interesting way.

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. When he meets Ellen (Crystal Reed) and lands a job at GQ Magazine, things seem to be headed in the right direction. 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. Roger, a pretty good pinball player, begins writing a book about the games and gets embroiled in the campaign to legalize them. 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. 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.

While Faist plays Roger in the 1970s, the film opens with Better Call Saul actor Dennis Boutsikaris as the elder Mr. Sharpe. Sitting in an interview setting with the filmmakers off camera, Mr. 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. Mr. Sharpe appears in the flashback sequences as an invisible presence within the scenes featuring Faist as his younger self. 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. He insists on setting the record straight whenever the dramatic license becomes too much. At one point, Mr. Sharpe stops a scene by asking what MPAA rating the filmmakers are going for and insists on saving their lone f-bomb for later. It is a fun way to tweak the story for the viewers who may need an entry into the world of pinball wizardry.

The chemistry between Mike Faist and Crystal Reed works best in Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game. The two leads share an easygoing dynamic from the outset that presents them as partners. 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. After his failed marriage, Roger is hesitant but has strong feelings for Ellen and gets along well with Seth. 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. Faist gives Roger a Midwestern charm that belies his insecurities. While the mustache Faist sports is historically accurate to the real Roger Sharpe, it is often distracting when taking this story seriously. As much as this is a movie about a game, the stakes for everyone in favor of pinball legalization is far above a few quarters.

The Bragg Brothers are certainly telling Roger Sharpe’s story, but this movie incorporates a lot of history about the game itself. With actors portraying innovators like Sam Gensberg, Alvin Gottlieb, and Harry Williams, the Braggs give us a lot of insight into the evolution of pinball facilitated by companies like Ballys, Williams, Gottlieb, Midway, and more. With Sharpe interviewing these people for his tome about the game, we are given documentary-level moments that show how the arcade stalwart was more than a gambling machine and was a true game of skill and expertise. These moments are interesting to watch and accent the main story, which ends up feeling somewhat anticlimactic compared to the bold hyperbole of the film’s title. I am not saying that Pinball: The Man Who Changed the Game doesn’t live up to the historical event, but this is more of a story about how the game changed the man.

Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game plays almost like the Oscar-baiting biopics that tend to dominate awards season. Still, this movie never tries to be more than a modest story about a niche moment in American history. What Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game excels at is making pinball feel as vital and important as any other game. Similarly to AppleTV+’s recent Tetris (read our review), this film transforms a machine into fodder for dramatic movie magic. There are many cliche moments throughout this film, and the story may feel a bit anticlimactic, but the journey of Roger Sharpe’s life as portrayed here is a fun and enjoyable tale worth checking out. With both Mike Faist and Crystal Reed exuding chemistry and enthusiasm, you will want to get some pocket change and pull the plunger on your own pinball cabinet.

Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game is in theaters and On-Demand now! You can actually rent the film via the embed at the top of this review.