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, Bill Murray

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 .....

---

Plot Keywords:

bowling | amish | amish man | on the road | rubber hand | 

---

Taglines:

A movie with a lot of balls.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude sex-related humor and a drug scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Strike

Filming Locations:

Interstate 80, Reno, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,004,340 (UK) (19 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

In the final tournament the announcer says there is a Cinderella story shaping up here. Possibly referring to one of Bill Murrays famous lines in Caddyshack.

---

Goofs

The red Porsche 911 in Stanley's driveway has 17" Porsche Cup wheels, but the red 911 shown in Reno has the standard 16" wheels.

---

Quotes

Ishmael: Okay, you want to bowl for some big money, eh? But I'll lose my entire bonus check because I'm so *bombed*.
McKnight Bowl Bartender: You get that way from ginger ale?
Roy: Nah, he was sniffing glue in the parking lot.

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the final credits, there is a scene with Roy's landlady.

---

Connections

Referenced in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000)

---

Soundtracks

Like a Virgin
Performed by Kelly Jackson
Written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly
Artist Courtesy of Pocket Songs

User Reviews

Low-brow +disgusting equals fun!

Before "There's Something About Mary" or "Me myself and Irene" there was Kingpin. Kingpin is a comedic masterpiece-not many comedies make me laugh out loud like this one. If the Farrellys were not attached this movie wouldn't be half as great as it was (This film was originally written by Barry Fanaro, and Mort Nathan) Roy Munson was a bowling champion in the late 1970s. Roy retires after a dirty trick pulled by Ernie McCracken costs him to lose his hand. Roy becomes an alcoholic and sinks very low going as far as sleeping with his repellent, disgusting Landlord. He meets up with Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid) in a bowling alley. After some convincing talks him into driving down to reno and enlist in a bowling contest. This is the Farrelly's second movie after dumb and dumber, and is some ways, a lot funnier. Bill Murray is genius and ad libs most of his lines. Woody Harrelson does a great job; He goes as far as shaving his head and goes all the way to look like a dead-beat. Randy Quaid is innocent and funny. **** stars.