Kingpin (1996)

A star bowler whose career was prematurely "cut off" hopes to ride a new prodigy to success and riches.

Directors:

Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Writers:

Barry Fanaro, Mort Nathan

Stars:

Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Harrelson	...	Roy Munson
Randy Quaid	...	Ishmael
Vanessa Angel	...	Claudia
Bill Murray	...	Ernie McCracken
Chris Elliott	...	The Gambler
William Jordan	...	Mr. Boorg
Richard Tyson	...	Owner Of Stiffy's
Lin Shaye	...	Landlady
Zen Gesner	...	Thomas
Prudence Wright Holmes	...	Mrs. Boorg
Rob Moran	...	Stanley Osmanski
Daniel Greene	...	Calvert Munson (as Danny Green)
Will Rothhaar	...	Young Roy
Mark Charpentier	...	1979 Bowling Buddy
Brad Faxon	...	1979 Bowling Buddy

Storyline

Roy Munson was raised to be the best bowler in the world (trained early on by his father). But a fellow bowler, Ernie McCracken and a misunderstanding with some rough punks, leaves poor Roy with the loss of his bowling hand! Not to let this get him down, he gets a prosthetic hand and becomes a travelling sales man. But it's really all down hill for him from that night on until ... One day he meets Ishmael who is Amish and sneaks away from the farm to bowl (his fellow Amish would disown him if they knew)! Roy convinces Ishmael to let him be his trainer and he'll make him the best bowler the world has ever seen. Reluctantly Ishmael agrees to go on the road and shortly afterwards actually finds that life outside the farm is quite fun. Soon their paths cross that of Ernie McCracken who is still a top ranking bowler. While Roy's career and life have landed in the toilet bowl, Ernie is still drawing huge crowds and all the babes! They both square off for the ultimate bowling championship .....

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Plot Keywords:

bowling | amish | tournament | pennsylvania | lancaster county | 

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Taglines:

You wouldn't want to meet these pinheads in an alley.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some crude sex-related humor

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kingpin - Estes Loucos Reis do Boliche

Filming Locations:

Interstate 80, Reno, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,582,000 (USA) (26 July 1996)

Gross:

$24,944,213 (USA) (11 October 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rysher Entertainment, Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 117 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The entire commercial Ernie McCracken does for the kids, is ad libbed by Bill Murray with only the scenes scripted.

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Goofs

When Roy's rubber hand has been removed and the hook is visible, his right arm/sleeve is suddenly longer than his left (in fact, it's just longer enough to accommodate the hook that Harrelson is holding in his hand at the time). This is most obvious at the beginning of the tournament scene, when Roy's hand falls off with the ball. His right arm is suddenly a several inches longer than his left, not counting the hook, but when he puts the hand back on his arms are the same length again.

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Quotes

Roy: I know what you're thinking, but let me explain...
[Claudia kicks Roy in the crotch]
Roy: [very softly] Mommy. You must have a really wide foot because you got both of them

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Crazy Credits

The Blues Traveler dressed as Amish performing in the final credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Fantastic Four (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Soon Enough"
Performed and Written by Josh Clayton-Felt
Artist Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

User Reviews

An abrasive comedy that is not for all tastes

Kingpin should be approached with the same kind apprehension that any sane person would approach any Farrelly Brothers film. Expect a procession of jokes at the expensive of the main characters, fused with an simple storyline and that's exactly what to expect from a Farrelly brothers film.

Woody Harrelson plays Roy Munson a washed bowler that had potential to be a professional Bowler but his dream comes to an end when he encounters Ernie McCracken, played to perfection by Bill Murray who ends up costing Roy Munson his bowling hand. Cut to mid-90's Roy is now an alcoholic, in serious debt. A chance meeting with Ishamel Boorg, played by Randy Quaid, an naive Amish man at a bowling alley leads to the pairs cross country trip to save both their respective futures. Along the way they met Claudia, played by Vanessa Angel, a tough talking con woman with her own mission. Together the three form an unbreakable bond and come face to face with their adversary Ernie McCracken.

I like my comedy to be intelligent, and Kingpin is one of the few movies of its kind that actually makes me laugh. It made me laugh when I first saw it in 1996 it made me laugh till I was sore and now ten years on in 2006 it still makes me laugh. The cast are brilliant and it's their talents that really keep this comedy from dating. Randy Quaid is always solid, Vanessa Angel is devilish sexy and cunning, Woody Harrelson is suitably vexed and Bill Murray reminds us all why he has remained Hollywood's main comedy actor long since all his peers disappeared.

Kingpin is definitely for an adult audience and it is worth watching some night that there is nothing on the television or at the cinema. Not for all tastes but damn it is good and it is one of the Farrelly brothers better films in my opinion. 10 out of 10