User reviews

I cannot believe 'Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game' does not even have a wikipedia page. The best lowest budget film I've watched. It's just so wholesome and whole and complete. Every element of the movie is doing its job. Foremost, the story is well organized with clear plot development yet it's not simple. Old Roger's narration in interview form and during the interaction with past Roger are the right amount of diversion to add more fun (and still be neat). Editing and the pace of the film are very up-to-date. They contribute to the upbeat and witty atmosphere of the movie. The color palette and the costume are trendy and vintage at the same time. They are old-time but not outdated. Message and theme are clear: taking a shot. It's hidden in pinball and manifested through Roger's work and relationship. Finally, MIKE FAIST.. He can act, man. He can lead 90 minutes of work with brilliant chemistry with his co-stars. His conveyance of emotion of Roger and his relationship with others seem genuine. The role really suits him because it can bring out his theater-ish personality.

This film left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside, without overdoing it. It takes a very interesting, relatively unimportant piece of American history and turns it into a wonderful story. Light without being superficial, educative without being preachy. A perfect pick me up on a rainy day.

The sets, clothing and actors are wonderful, the seventies are beaming from the screen, making me nostalgic for times I have never lived in. It feels very hollywood, which emphasises the American-ness of pinball, bringing you even more in the spirit of the movie.

The only thing that makes it a bit cringy at times (at least for me), is the breaking of the fourth wall. It's rarely done well, and I don't think this movie needed it. But again, that is just a personal preference, and it does add some extra information.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially those who like fun, interesting tidbits about history.

Maybe like a 7.5? The acting is good, the story is solid and interesting (you even learn things, historical elements, etc.), the movie making is good, and there's awesome 70's styling.

What really makes the movie a lot better than what it would have been should it have had standard story telling, was self-derision, making fun of itself, correcting itself, and inserting historical snippets. The movie includes a lot of small clichés, though makes fun of those clichés at the same time. There are some other clichés that were left unattended, but I guess that's okay.

On top of it being a generally good movie, I don't really see what there is to say. Should you watch it? I recommend it. Are there flaws in the movie? None other than small clichés, etc. Does it feel like one of the many "success story" films? Yes, it does. Maybe it's the slight lack of originality in the "success story bioflick" genre that lowers the score for me, but then again, what they did with the material, they did really well, and the story is certainly worth a movie.

I hesitated a long time between a 7 and an 8. In any case, you get the just that it's a good movie, though not that it will necessarily blow your mind or change your life.

You will only ever focus on one thing, the fake moustache, the highly ridiculous moustache, that moustache.

It will distract you from the main character, Roger Sharpe (Mike Faist) despite sitting uncomfortably on his face.

Mr. Sharpe, (Dennis Boutsikaris) Roger's older self and fourth wall breaking narrator, will never mention it but we know that he knows, how could he not?! He's right next to the thing, a lot.

Moustache has one skill, pinball. Learnt in a student bar and rediscovered in New York, the moustache wants to play. But New York doesn't like pinball, it's obviously a vice so must be hidden in the backrooms of 'adult' stores.

What follows is a really interesting, tongue in cheek journey in the quest to liberate the flippers and their corresponding steel balls.

Well worth a watch, but that moustache?! It can't be unseen, sadly.

Others have written on this, and I find I cannot expound any further upon the topic-- tight editing, great cinematography, likeable cast, wonderful writing.

So, why did I give it a 7 instead of a 10? Well, a 10 is for an outstanding movie, that one that grabs you by the ...well, you know.. and makes you realize your life has been nothing but a daily bore; this movie doesn't accomplish that. Instead, it allows you to wallow in another's joy, to experience happiness not in the degradation of another but in the pureness of accomplishment, whether it be in a game or in a relationship. I mentioned $$ in the title-- yes, another few bucks for a decent fake mustache for Roger and a set of glasses WITH glass.. these, and only these, two items continually distracted me. Yes, I can be petty but hey- it's only my opinon, right?

Maybe it's when you have the least expectations that you can be the most enthused. I had not heard anything about this movie, did not know that the game had ever been banned anywhere, and have never played much pinball myself (never been any good at it, which helps, of course).

And I was absolutely delighted by this movie. It's an underdog story, obviously "based on real events", probably a little spiced up for the movie, and that's all right. The story is great, the characters are likable, the actors do a great job, the editing is neat, the direction efficient, the photography perfect. It's a very pleasant ride through and through, really uplifting. I loved it.

It's Slow lethargic bad boring narration but ok. Alot bori6flat scenes...could have been great but the narration was boring and editing was jumpy.. Really had to focus myself watch this til end...They seem to really want to drag out the whole story because maybe not enough content? So scenes I nearly fell asleep... just too many long flat scenes...The format the way the movie Tetris was made was much better and more realistic and better acting...Not sure how this got a 7/10 rating...I didn't see any laugh out loud moments either... This could have been great ...the cinematography is mediocre and the script and dialogue is just bad .. It just seems like such a short story they had to drag out into a full tv movie..

Yes, 7.2 current rating as I write this is severely underrated for this movie. I can't imaging how damaged one has to be to give it a low score. I knew I am going to love this after about 10 second through the trailer so I never finished the trailer.

The narrating is hilarious, the mustage is just crazy funny. I was laughing at all the scenes with it as it was cute, gross, funny and weird.

All the actors did a great job and so is the directors of the movie. It is a gem. The story is great too and a part of the real history! I couldn't imaging how they could pull off a movie about a pinball yet it was done flawlessly at 9.3/10. Kept me entertained, laughing and smiling from start to finish.

A few years ago a guy made a rather amazing ball machine that played music. Over the ensuing months, my FB feed was packed with "have you seen this?" It was sweet, it was funny, it was relentless.

And it's about to happen again. But for the record, yes, I've seen this, on the day it came out. My wife was reluctant at first - on seeing the title, she presumed it would be a nerd-fest like "A Fistful of Quarters - The King Of Kong" - but she was pulled onboard in the first 30 seconds.

We loved all of it. A piece of history told better than I could, and with a lot of stuff I didn't know, and a lot of Hollywood "treatment" to liven it up, and a determination make sure the audience knew the truth anyhow.

You don't have to be a pinball person to love this movie. It's beautifully shot, well directed, with credible characters and a story most of us haven't heard.

But if you love pinball as I do, it's even better.

"Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game" (2022), directed by Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg, is a heartwarming and inspiring drama that explores the power of passion and determination. The film follows the story of Roger Sharp (played by Mike Feist), a struggling writer who finds solace and redemption through his love for pinball.

Plot The film begins in the 1970s, where Roger is trying to revive his writing career after a series of setbacks. His only escape from his troubles is playing pinball, which he discovers has been banned in New York City for years due to its association with gambling. Roger decides to fight against the ban and restore pinball's reputation, using his writing skills to educate the public about the game's history and cultural significance.

Characters Mike Feist delivers a compelling performance as Roger Sharp, capturing his vulnerability, determination, and passion. Crystal Reed shines as Ellen, Roger's love interest, bringing a sense of hope and support to the film. The supporting cast, including Dennis Boutsikaris, Christopher Convery, and Connor Rattiff, add depth to their roles, bringing a sense of realism to the story.

Atmosphere and Visuals The film is shot in a nostalgic and charming style, with scenes that highlight the beauty and simplicity of the 1970s. The cinematography and editing create a sense of warmth and nostalgia, making the viewer feel a part of Roger's journey. The use of music adds to the film's atmosphere, making it feel more like a personal journey.

Conclusion "Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game" is a heartwarming and inspiring film that explores the power of passion and determination. The film's message about the importance of fighting for what you believe in and finding redemption through your passions is delivered with raw emotion and authenticity.

Rating: 7/10.

This is the story of how Roger Sharpe assisted in overturning the New York ban on pinball machines.

It is as exciting as it sounds.

That is not a bad thing - not every movie has to have planets crashing into the sun, but be aware of this.

It is well filmed, using the interview process as a clever naration device that adds some welcomed disruption and humour to it.

This is well produced and acted.

We watched this on a Wednesday evening and it was perfect.

A lot of this revolves around Roger's love life.

Roger does seem to like Pinball a bit too much and the stakes here are low. I really don't care if pinball machines got banned in a city on the otherside of the world 50 years.

This is a nice film that chews up and idle afternoon.

"You can't win. The point is to have fun." So says a young college student in a bar to fellow student (and Pinball-curious) Roger Sharpe. I suddenly thought about how over the course of my life I'd heard similarly simple (and yet arguably equally profound) sayings by Joseph Campbell and Wayne Dyer (and others)... but I'd never heard anyone use Pinball as a metaphor for how to live life to its fullest.

Now I know what you're probably thinking: How hokey! Especially if there are more such thinly-disguised metaphors in the movie (and there are). But somehow they don't come across as hokey or off-putting, but rather -- as I indicated -- almost profound. I guess this is due to the skill of the actors and the scene writing, including how the sayings seem gently sprinkled onto (while also organically arising from) the (often humorous) scenes. (By contrast, grandma's roller-coaster metaphor near the end of "Parenthood" was so in-your-face that (to me at least) only Steve Martin's extreme reaction, followed by making a following scene almost seem like it was taking place on a roller coaster, made it work.)

The movie mostly takes place in the 1970's, when Roger was in this twenties, but it starts with a present-day (70-ish) Roger Sharpe answering an interviewers questions, a la old Rose in "Titanic". And occasionally he does voice-overs, or we momentarily come back to the present day for him to answer a question from the interviewer. But more often he suddenly appears (a la "Annie Hall") in a 1970's scene with his younger self and others (generally unnoticed by his younger self and the other characters) to talk to us about the scene, sometimes adding additional information (usually humorous) or commentary -- including at times correcting the way "Hollywood" has embellished the moment!

My favorite example is at a critical point in the movie -- I won't say exactly what to avoid being too spoilery. Suffice to say that when the moment goes well there is (as Monty Python used to say) much rejoicing. To the point where I almost expected to see (a la "The Natural") a light fixture explode, raining pseudo-fireworks down on everybody as a grinning cherubic kid looks like he too is about to literally explode with delight. Fortunately before things could get that nauseating the present-day Roger Sharpe cuts in and makes them re-do the scene reaction like it actually happened: still very exuberant, but much more realistic and true to life and ultimately thus far more meaningful. For, as Sharpe indicates, there are few things in life more meaningful than a getting a person to change a long-held belief... and few things more satisfying and beautiful than beholding the subtle look in his or her eye at that exact moment.

There is an occasional running bit throughout the movie whereby the present-day interviewer asks present-day Sharpe to get back to the Pinball story (when he starts to "digress" to much about his girlfriend Ellen and her kid). But then at the end, when the Pinball story is over and present-day Sharpe is about to get up from the chair, the interviewer stops him and asks him about what happened with the girl. Which is exactly what we in the audience wanted, as the movie is so well done that by we've now become as invested in their relationship (or even more so) as in the original Pinball story.

(Speaking of how well done this movie is, every actor is superb, as are the writing, direction, cinematography, sound and so forth. I have omitted the traditional parenthetical mention of everyone because I figure by the time someone reads this user review they are probably already familiar from the IMDB listing itself and other reviews who everyone is.)

Anyway, I'm ashamed to admit that when the present-day Roger Sharpe told the interviewer how well things worked out (slight spoiler below), the cynic in me said "oh, come on" and started to wonder if the whole girlfriend story had been seriously embellished -- or perhaps even been made up out of whole cloth.

After all, I'm less than a generation younger than Sharpe, and every single one of my friends from high school is either divorced (and generally with tremendous hatred toward their ex spouse!) or, like me, never found anyone to begin with and now live fairly barren lives. Now granted this is probably in part due to my friends and I being raised in the decade of stagflation, with endless talk of the energy crisis and the alleged dire population explosion and so forth. We were encouraged to postpone marriage and kids and focus on survival (ideally through good grades, a college degree and good-paying job). It was radically different than, say, for the generation before mine, when apparently (from what I understand the 50's were like) people tended to get married and have kids right after high school. But for me and my friends, we assumed that by waiting we'd be far better off in the long run. After all, it was hard to think of marriage and kids when (as in my family) the gas or electricity was occasionally shut off, along with the occasional eviction. (Not to mention the family car being only used by my dad to get to work... NOT for us teens to "waste gas" by going on dates.) Of course we all assumed that someday we'd get married and have kids... but for many of us someday never came.

So seeing Sharpe fall into (seemingly without much effort on his part) such a strong love story -- complete with an 11-year-old pinball-loving kid -- with somebody who was so helpful in his efforts to achieve his (as well as her own) dreams (via everything from her touch typing skills to her inspirational know-what-you-want-and-go-for-it attitude) seemed to me like Hollywood schmaltz. And thus as the lights went up and the credits rolled part of me was wondering why the filmmakers had apparently given into schmaltz despite the entire movie before that overtly (via present-day Sharpe) reigning in any such attempts to "go Hollywood".

Thankfully I had the tremendous good fortune to be at a screening that was followed by a Q&A session with the real Roger Sharpe. And when a few minutes into it he suddenly introduced his wife (and mentioned the two kids that they had indeed had together) the entire audience spontaneously and vigorously applauded. And while I can't say for certain as my vision had become obscured, through the tears in my eyes I got the sense that there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

It's rare that I give something a ten, but you know what? This film deserves it. Beautifully produced: great acting, cinematography, directing, writing - it's all there.

Pinball is definitely a game that's before my time, I grew up in the era when game consoles really began to take off, so things like pinball had unfortunately all but died out. But what this film does very well is that it helps you find love and appreciation for a game that stood the test of time for many a decade before the digital age began to take over.

Honestly makes me want to buy a pinball machine so I can keep the legacy of the game alive... Maybe some day?

Definitely recommend this if you're in the mood for a light, funny, feel-good film.

It started nice, I really though the guy in the first scene (interview scene) was the guy (Roger Sharpe). I went along with it, but of course, I quickly realized it wasn't him, which threw me off. Why add that scene at all? Not trying to spoil it but you might understand my reaction if you watch it. Then the young fake Roger Sharpe shows up and bam, it hits you. The fake mustache. It's in your face, you just watch every scene and look at the mustache and ask yourself why am I watching this? I couldn't pay attention to anything else but the mustache. It then zooms closer and you can see the obvious, and it kept showing it and showing it and after 5 minutes in, I stopped watching. Now,, im working and watching this at the same time, the directors approach to show the fake interview every now and again was a but annoying, unnecessary. Finally the story gets better and the mustache still exists, then the fake interview interrupts the movie again for no reason. The ending is what made sense of the mustache. The young Sharpe with no facial hair and with an inch of mustache hair was finally explained. That photo should have been shown to us at the very beginning. But nonetheless the mustache was really bad.

Make no mistake, this is a small movie. Little known actors, writers, and directors. But what they produced is a masterpiece of storytelling that is memorable and, most importantly, fun to watch.

This is not just a movie about pinball, you probably expected to read that. It is a movie about life. It is a tight hour and a half runtime, so it doesn't waste a minute. The actors all delivered unexpectedly genuine performances and the script is smart. The story is predictable and so is the ending, but the storytelling and acting is so well done and funny that I might watch it again, later today.

This is is the kind of movie you watch when you need a little nudge, when you're a little stuck. It's a an entertaining reminder that we control our choices and to have fun with that fact.

Off the bat, it's an amazing movie.

The casting is great, the cinematography makes the 70's feel alive, the writing is good, the jokes are good, the tone of the humor is different from anything that's been released recently and trust me that a relief.

I found myself shouting at the screen a few times, but that's all in the story.

I haven't written a review on here for a long time, but I felt the need to, because there's no big actors in this and I fear for that reason that this movie might go down a "great movies you didn't see" list, and I don't really don't want that for this movie!

Absolute must see, especially with family or on a date!

Olympia, WA

We wore the clothes. We stretched to places we'd never before seen or known. Polyester. Damn. I want that sweater.

We played the game. We hoped to win. We watched the steel ball bounce, and dance and ping and sway.

The Greyhound bus depot had a cafe and one pinball machine. We learned how to tilt, to cheat, and to love the game. Sorry for the cheating. Thank you for the winning.

We ate. Sometimes it was food, and other times it was sustenance. Mostly it was survival. Pinball gave us hope.

Corn dogs.

The Future was ours, until it wasn't.

Amen. God. Whatever. Pinball is alive and it lives within all of us. If you have a machine to sell, we'll buy it. May Be.

Fun, well paced, a 'new' genre, well acted and directed, well produced, no need of hardships to show a great hero's journey. Not to mention that there's no woke narrative to endure - that's so rare these days that this film comes as a salvation! Enjoyable! The ending could have been more emotive or spicy and some characters deserved more development but it would have been difficult since there's nothing to remove from the script. Best part is that Pinball is a true story! The title clearly shows that the movie comes with a happy ending, where laws can be changed and that's a big encouragement for our present hard times.

What an absolutely fantastic, fun film! It is part biopic about the man who got pinball made legal again in most of the US, part endearing love story, and part inspirational film about going after what you truly love. It is about making choices and taking fresh chances after life throws it's chaos at you, and the pinball metaphor (and the amazing pinball games!) carries this delightful film.

The writing is very clever, introducing themes that start as pinball themes and become life lessons, and don't show a hint of being corny or sappy. The movie is sentimental without being sticky or overdone, and the clever directing and storytelling devices keep you glued throughout. Can't recommend enough!

If you've ever played pinball enough to really enjoy the game, this is a must-see movie. Watching the history of these machines and their interaction with local big-city politics (fun and politics seem to clash often) is an added bonus. The Rom-Com side is also developed nicely, and the acting is good. The story feels as real as claimed and is never slow paced. Whenever the narrator breaks through to the viewer, it adds a kick of additional humor. This movie reminds me of "The World's Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins playing New Zealand speed bike racer Burt Munro who, against the odds and on a miniscule budget, set speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah during the 50s and 60s.

I play pinball in leagues and competitions and I'm very aware of the history of pinball and how it was illegal in most major cities and was very aware of who Roger, Josh, and Zach are. I was excited for this movie to release but I honestly had that feeling this was going to be one of those things that only those that are into pinball would enjoy -- I'm pleased to find I was extremely wrong. This is a highly entertaining movie done in a way that I've seen few (if any) documentaries play out and on top of the narrative style it's extremely informative and uses the law's lack of a major plot as a way to kind of drive the movie (trust me, it makes sense when you watch it). I came away learning so much more about Roger and a whole new texture to what happened to reverse the illegality of pinball in NYC (and start the reaction across the nation). This is certainly a film I am recommending to anyone including those outside of my pinball circle and one that I suggest you take a shot on.

Really enjoyed this movie! Great story, interesting, and I really learned a lot. Has its funny moments and I definitely laughed out loud a few times. Crystal Reed is the definition of cute in this movie. There is also nothing really bad in this movie and I think you can watch it with just about anyone. Don't watch the trailer, watch this movie cold.

Really enjoyed this movie! Great story, interesting, and I really learned a lot. Has its funny moments and I definitely laughed out loud a few times. Crystal Reed is the definition of cute in this movie. There is also nothing really bad in this movie and I think you can watch it with just about anyone.