Director: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg
Before pinball machines were bar-room fixtures again, one man had to convince a city they weren't gambling devices at all — that's the true story behind this 2023 drama-comedy.
What is Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game about?
Roger Sharpe is a writer and self-taught pinball enthusiast in 1970s New York, a city where pinball has been outlawed for over three decades on the theory that it's a game of chance rather than skill. When Sharpe gets the chance to demonstrate otherwise in front of a city council skeptical of lifting the ban, he has to prove, shot by shot, that pinball rewards timing and control rather than luck. The film weaves that public showdown together with the more private story of Sharpe's early marriage, using flash-forward interviews and a loose, playful structure to track how one modest hearing ended up changing the game's fortunes for good.
Cast & crew
Mike Faist plays Sharpe with a quiet, earnest determination that carries the film's lighter, almost mockumentary tone, while Crystal Reed brings warmth to the marriage storyline running alongside the pinball plot. Dennis Boutsikaris and the rest of the supporting cast fill out the courtroom-adjacent hearing scenes that give the film its central tension.
Context & significance
Written and directed by Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg, the film draws on Sharpe's own recollection of events, mixing archival-style asides with straightforward period drama to recreate 1970s New York without leaning on heavy exposition. The directors previously worked in documentary-style comedy, and that background shows in how the film blends dry humor with genuine historical detail. Its 92-minute runtime keeps the pacing tight, moving briskly between the courtroom hearing and the quieter scenes of Sharpe's home life.
Where & how to watch
The film is available with Persian-dubbed audio, letting Farsi-speaking audiences follow the story without reading subtitles. Watching it only requires a free K-Time account, and this page itself can be read without logging in first. K-Time's interface, recommendations, and audio options are all built with Farsi-speaking viewers in mind.