“Marty” (Timothée Chalamet) has dreams that he can dominate the sport of table tennis. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most folks he knows in New York think he’s a few bricks short of a full barrow. Anyway, after quite a fun altercation with a rival at work, he purloins seven hundred bucks then absconds to London for the world championships. That's where he meets not only his soon-to-be nemesis “Koto Endo” (Koto Kawaguchi) but also the glamorous actress “Kay” (Gwyneth Paltrow) who just happens to be rather unsatisfactorily married to millionaire ink-man “Rockwell” (Kevin O’Leary). From now on, “Marty” must juggle a series of plates that include the pregnant “Rachel” (Odessa A’zion) and an international federation that takes a dim view of his attitudes to their sport (and it’s accommodation policies). The next world championships are in Japan, and there’s a fighting chance he can get there is he plays the game the way “Rockwell” wants - but given he’s an entirely self-obsessed and frankly quite unlikeable man, what chance he can learn to compromise? I was late to the party as far as Chalamet is concerned. Until “Dune” (2021), I found him to be quite an unremarkable actor. Here, though, he shines. He owns the part and I must admit I really quite enjoyed his performance as a man whom I’d cheerfully have fed to the sharks. Indeed, the scene for which this film will most likely be best remembered was nowhere near severe enough on a character who took arrogance to an whole new level. A’zion comes into her own a little more towards the end but Paltrow doesn’t really get much chance to shine as her sparing appearances don’t really endear “Kay” to us much, either. My dad used to paint his golf balls orange so he could play in the (Scottish) snow, so the design of an orange ping pong ball against white backgrounds seems self-evidently sensible for all concerned; some of his energetic antics do raise a smile as this races along and although I don’t know that I’d join a queue to see it again, I did enjoy it as Chalamet exudes a charisma that is enjoyable to watch.

you ever watch a movie where everything is perfect and it’s hard to imagine they held casting calls because there’s no chance anyone else could play any of these roles? And it almost feels real like this is who these people are and we’re witnessing a moment, a window inside? A certain disbelief arises because genuinely Marty Supreme really is that bitch.