# Pinball: The Man Who Saved It -  Movie Review

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2022-10-18  
**Duration:** 5m 54s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDAyi13s9qY

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy reviews 'Pinball: The Man Who Saved It', a biographical film about Roger Sharp and the 1976 NYC pinball ban legal case. Hardy praises the film's acting, humor, and appeal to both pinball enthusiasts and general audiences, while noting its limited streaming availability and hoping for wider distribution via Blu-ray or major streaming services.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The film stars Dennis Buscaris as older Roger Sharp and narrator — _Cary Hardy directly states this casting choice and praises the performance_
- [HIGH] Brian Batt also appears in the film — _Cary Hardy explicitly mentions Brian Batt's presence and references his work in Mad Men_
- [HIGH] The film was available to stream via virtual ticket for a limited time window — _Cary Hardy describes watching it via paid virtual ticket with expiration date_
- [HIGH] The film exceeds Hardy's initial expectations regarding budget and acting quality — _Hardy explicitly states the indie film was 'surprisingly good' and exceeded low expectations_
- [HIGH] Pinball is not the primary focus of the film but is 'sprinkled throughout' — _Hardy directly states this and notes it makes the film accessible to non-enthusiasts_

### Notable Quotes

> "This movie was surprisingly good... the film exceeded my expectations. when it comes to the actors all of them did great"
> — **Cary Hardy**, early review section
> _Core recommendation thesis; establishes positive sentiment_

> "Pinball is merely sprinkled throughout of it and I think it great for enthusiasts as well as non"
> — **Cary Hardy**, accessibility discussion
> _Key insight about the film's broad appeal beyond the pinball community_

> "I strongly recommend this movie to all pinball enthusiasts, and I really think for you non-enthusiasts out there that you would enjoy the movie as well"
> — **Cary Hardy**, recommendation section
> _Clear endorsement to both target and general audiences_

> "I'm hoping that it comes out on Blu-ray and if it does, I will own it... I'm hoping that maybe some sort of streaming service picks it up"
> — **Cary Hardy**, distribution discussion
> _Expresses desire for wider availability and commercial release_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Roger Sharp | person | Subject of the biographical film; historical figure who overturned NYC's 35-year pinball ban in 1976 |
| Cary Hardy | person | Content creator reviewing the film; pinball enthusiast with YouTube channel |
| Dennis Buscaris | person | Actor portraying older Roger Sharp and narrator in the film |
| Brian Batt | person | Actor in the film; known for role in Mad Men television series |
| Pinball: The Man Who Saved It | product | Biographical film about Roger Sharp and the NYC pinball ban case |
| New York City | organization | Location of the 35-year pinball ban that was overturned |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Film review and critical reception, Roger Sharp and NYC pinball ban historical case, Film distribution and availability
- **Secondary:** Pinball community engagement with media, Acting quality and casting decisions

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Cary Hardy expresses strong approval of the film, praising acting, humor, and accessibility. Frustration expressed only about limited distribution model, not the film itself.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Pinball content creator actively promoting film to both enthusiast and general audiences (confidence: high) — Hardy recommends film to both pinball enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts; seeks wider distribution
- **[event_signal]** Documentary/biographical film about Roger Sharp and 1976 NYC pinball ban released with limited streaming window (confidence: high) — Film confirmed released with virtual ticket streaming model; unclear if permanent distribution secured

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## Transcript

So I watched the movie Pinball, the man who saved the game, the story about Roger Sharp, and now this is my spoiler-free review. What's up guys and welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball, so if that sounds interesting to you, then hit that subscribe button down below. According to the IMDB page, this is the synopsis of the movie. The story of Roger Sharp, the young Midwesterner who overturned New York City's 35-year-old ban on pinball machines. That's it. That is what you get with the IMDb. Now, I say spoiler-free, but it's a given what his history is. Him being in the courtroom, playing the game, calling the shot, and making the shot to make sure that pinball is saved. So, aside from that portion of it, I do want to let you know that there is another portion of this movie which I find just as entertaining. And that is his journey to get to that point. How and why he was chosen to be the person to play in that courtroom that day. And honestly, this movie was surprisingly good. Now I say that because I guess whenever I knew what the movie was going to be about and how it was going to be a small indie movie I just kind of assumed that it was going to be a very small budget and I guess I was just expecting some poor acting and just you know all around just kind of like not impressive But honestly, the film exceeded my expectations. when it comes to the actors all of them did great and especially Dennis Buscaris and I thought that was an excellent pick as the older version of Roger Sharp who is also the narrator during the entirety of the film so I think he did a very good impression of Roger throughout the movie I thought that was a lot of good funny parts in there and I like how they definitely are very aware that a lot of us know that that's not Roger Sharp so at one point they kind of like again I'm not going to spoil it for you but there's certain portions where they are very aware that this is not Roger Sharp kind of thing. Brian Batt also played in this I really enjoyed him in the show Mad Men so to see him in here was also nice. A couple of things to note about this movie is that it is not entirely about pinball so those of you that are not completely enthusiastic about pinball should find it as an entertaining story as well. Pinball is merely sprinkled throughout of it and I think it great for enthusiasts as well as non And what funny for those of us out there that have listened or been around Roger Sharp and spoken to him and heard stories is that he tends to be very long and can usually go off and talk for a very long time and kind of go off subject And they poke fun at that a couple of times in this movie because that's what it seems like they're doing. and so I guess the directors have to kind of like, kind of like, and stop, and like, so are we going to get back to the pinball and kind of get him back on topic? So I think poking fun of that was pretty funny. There's also a couple of times in the movie where they actually throw a little bit of education out there for those of you out there that are very unfamiliar with pinball machines, why they do what they do, and the way the tilt mechanism works, stuff like that. There's just a couple of times, but it's in there. I laughed quite a bit in this movie. It was actually pretty damn humorous. I strongly recommend this movie to all pinball enthusiasts, and I really think for you non-enthusiasts out there that you would enjoy the movie as well and learn a couple of things. Now, sadly, if you are unaware of the fact that you were only able to stream this movie for a certain amount of time via a particular website, I will still put a link in the description down below But you're gonna go to it and you're not gonna be able to view it Basically you would pay for a virtual ticket to watch it and you had so many days to be able to watch it So I think it was like and I paid the and I was able to watch the movie I watched it almost twice I went through it a couple of times on the second time around just to see if I caught certain little Easter eggs and stuff like that. So aside from the streaming online, I do not know how you're going to be able to watch this movie at this time. I'm hoping that it comes out on Blu-ray and if it does, I will own it. but I'm hoping that maybe some sort of streaming service picks it up. Anyone. Amazon, Hulu, whatever. Because I would definitely like the masses out there to get a chance at watching this movie instead of it being a simple link on a website. So that's pretty much it. If and when you can, watch this movie. Have you already seen the movie? If you have, let me know what you think about it in the comments down below. Thumbs up, subscribe button, ding my dong, That way you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. And until next time, guys, peace out. Thank you.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 2c4fcc5f-d217-4746-ad5e-25947d10039c*