Kingpin (1996) User Reviews

Very funny movie

[851222 · 8/10 · 13 January 2023]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Kingpin" (1996) is a hilarious comedy. Story was good, performances were even better, and script and directing were very good. Its like "Dumb and Dumber" but better. Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid were terrific together. Supporting cast which includes no other then Bill Murray was more excellent. The premise of this comedy is also a solid gold - its kinda takes itself not so serious but the jokes land because its a hilarious story in itself as well characters are superb - for a comedy.

Overall, "Kingpin" was definitely one of the more memorable comedies from the 90's. Directors really shined here and created something special and unforgettable.

Bowling anyone?

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 25 August 2005]

Bobby and Peter Farrelly, the directors of "Kingpin" show a great flair for this type of comedy. Not having seen it when it first was released, we were lucky to catch it on cable the other night, and frankly, it proved to be a happy choice. The Farrellys had a good screen play by Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan to work with, as they showed a talent for assembling a wonderful cast to make this a winning comedy the fun and exciting film it is.

The best thing in the film are Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray. Mr. Harrelson plays Roy Munson, the man who love bowling, but through an unfortunate incident, loses his ability to play the sport he was born to play. Woody Harrelson is wonderful in his portrayal of Munson. Bill Murray's role is much smaller, but he does wonders with it. Best of all is the way we see him at the bowling tournament in Reno with his teased hair in disarray.

The rest of the cast is good. Randy Quaid as Ishmael Boorg, gives a funny reading of his naive character. Also the attractive Vanessa Angel plays the woman who has an interest in the game.

Roy was a great bowler...and then he got Munsoned

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 1 September 2019]

In 1979, to the tune of "Disco Inferno", Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) demonstrates that he is the greatest bowler in the world. Except nobody knows this but himself, his dad, and the rest of his small Iowa hometown. So he sets out on the open road to make his fame and fortune in the sport. And then he runs into HIM...Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray). Ernie talks Roy into running a scam with him on some other bowlers, basically a hustle, and when the scam goes bad, Ernie takes a powder and leaves Roy holding the bowling bag. And the scammed - including a preacher - do not take it well. They take revenge by putting Roy's bowling hand into the bowling ball return. You don't actually SEE the gore, but the next scene is Woody in present day (1996) stopping his morning alarm with his extremely fake looking prosthetic hand to the tune of "It's a Beautiful Morning".

Roy's fortune looks like it might take a turn for the better when he encounters an Amish bowler, Ishmael (Randy Quaid), who has an incredibly high bowling score average. He wants Ishmael to go with him to a one million dollar tournament in Reno. Ishmael won't go because the bowling hobby is a secret from his family, one that his family and the entire Amish community consider sinful.

So the rest of the film consists of a hilarious take on the Amish community - ever notice this is the LAST group of people that it is OK to make fun of?, a beautiful but unwanted passenger (Vanessa Angel), and another encounter with HIM - Ernie McCracken, now a successful pro bowler...who still has both of his hands.

With Bill Murray as, well, Bill Murray. He's always the same character. We wouldn't want it any other way, at least in a comedy. Also with Lin Shaye as the woman with patent leather skin, an oversexed landlady who is playing the same kind of gross-out role she had in "Something About Mary". And about Roy being "Munsoned", along the way he learns that his last name has become an adjective, meaning "to have the world in the palm of your hand and blow it".

Sure this film is full of juvenile jokes, but overall it is very funny, plays to the strengths of the cast, and is for everybody who feels like they blew an opportunity in life, which is just about all of us. It's a shame most of the critics at the time didn't get that.

Hilarious

[whiskeyinabowlerhat · 7/10 · 9 February 2022]

Great movie still holds up well today. Cinematography top notch, acting amazing from whole cast, directing on point, casting fantastic. Couldn't ask for anything better. Wet yourself laughter.

Bill Murray at his best!

[bat-5 · 7/10 · 10 July 1999]

Bill Murray pretty much steals the show every time he's on the screen. He's sleazy, he's smarmy and he's very funny. With that comb-over going nuts at the big game, and his victory dance at the end makes Kingpin that much better. That's not saying that the rest of the film isn't good, it is. Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid and Vanessa Angel make a very odd partnership. An Amish bowling whiz, a one handed ex-bowler, and a very sexy hustler scheme and dream to make it to Reno, but of course they have to beat Big Ern.

I Almost Died Of Laughter

[alexkolokotronis · 10/10 · 3 February 2009]

This of course is not a great movie but I just have to give it a 10/10. I have never laughed more in my life. Even the jokes that aren't funny are funny. This film's comedic build up is about the best you will ever see. It doesn't even matter what the punch line is, its how they get to it thats hilarious.

Now this cast was perfect. Anytime you have Randy Quaid in a film you just know the film is going to make you life just by looking at him. Kingpin couldn't have shown this any better as he plays an Amish man who just happens to be amazingly talented at bowling. Woody Harrelson plays a has-been ex-professional bowler who makes a comeback with managing through Randy Quaid. Together they go on a ride across the country making money left and right. Along the journey they are great supporting comedic performances given by Bill Murray and Vanessa Angel who certainly makes the look of the film more appealing.

The Farrelly brothers in my opinion give their best direction they've yet to have. Yet it is the writers who so perfectly set up one joke after another. It seems as if the script is so sharp that their are jokes within jokes. The Farrelly brother handle this material so well by virtual unknowns.

As I have said before this is not a great film but I would highly recommend this if your in the mood of watching something spontaneous. It may not be the most technically sound movie ever made or the deepest but I have never laughed so much in life and that in it self is what comedies are about.

Just Sit Back and Laugh

[sbel-06989 · 7/10 · 21 August 2023]

If you are looking for a cinematic masterpiece look elsewhere. If you are looking to laugh for 90 minutes than this is the movie for you. The plot is predictable the acting is so so, but it is just plain funny. Especially Woody Harrelson Randy Quaid Bill Murray and Vanessa Angel

I laugh every time I have scene it and I have scene it well over a 100 times.

Most of the jokes are vulgar and crude so if that is not your style than I suggest you skip it. Again definitely not Academy Award material but funny funny funny. Just sit back and enjoy you don't even have to like bowling but it helps. Check your brain at the door and laugh.

This film is rude, crude and very funny

[lambiepie-2 · 10/10 · 19 November 2002]

When this film first came out, I had no use for it. Then I was home sick one day and caught it on cable. I laughed my butt off. This is a crude, rude and down right funny film. It also helped that I grew up near the Pennsylvania Dutch and plenty of bowling lanes. Two seemingly safe areas that the Farley brothers attack it without mercy. Sometimes it gets down right disgusting and many cannot stomach, but overall, its very funny.

Bill and Woody were funny as anything. The Disco-era beginning makes me laugh like crazy. The commercial Bill Murray does is to die for. This film will offend alot of people, and many references played for humor may make folks feel uncomfortable, but I loved it. If you are easily offended, this is NOT the film for you. But for everyone else who likes rude, crude and deviously funny -- often at the expense of others kinda humor, this is a gem to see.

Long Live the Comb Over

[mapeoleaf · 7/10 · 30 December 2003]

I thought this movie was great. It has a fantastic cast made up of Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and Bill Murray. I agree with other users that this film has not been rated fairly. You simply have to take it for what it's worth, and I personally think it's wonderful!

Woody Harrelson plays Roy Munson, a drunken, former pro-bowler trying with much difficulty to earn a buck. He discovers a young Amish man who may be his ticket back to bowling prestige (if that actually exists). The two bowling hopefuls proceed on a road trip to win the grand prize in a bowling championship in Las Vegas. This movie is truly hilarious! Woody Harrelson does a fantastic job in the role of the sad sack ex-bowler with a rubber hand. He seems to have aged ten years in his portrayal of this character. Bill Murray is his adversary, "Big Ern" McCracken, whose bad toupee seems to have a life of its own. Murray is wonderful in this role with his cocky and pompous attitude. There are certain scenes of his character in a television commercial that are quite literally, marvelous. Finally to finish off this stellar cast we have Randy Quaid as Ishmael, the Naïve Amish man who could quite possibly be the next Bowling legend. I must also mention the gorgeous Vanessa Angel as Claudia. Her character is under developed but she still has the charisma and sex appeal to ignite her scenes.

This movie must be viewed for what it is worth. This means, it is not Oscar material but it is a very funny movie. So watch the film with this in mind and enjoy all the hilarious scenes and great performances.

7/10

A really funny comedy

[martymaster · 24 February 2002]

This is a hillarious comedy,which goes where no comedy has gone before.Nothing is to weird for this comedy.Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson are great in their roles and the story is so simple that it is funny.It is about winning a bowling tournament. This movie is directed by the Farrelly brothers,and I think that explains it all. Go and see it now.

my notes

[FeastMode · 5/10 · 26 July 2019]

Good for a bunch of laughs including some really funny parts, but also pretty long with extensive amounts of unfunny time. i didn't like it overall, but i had a decent time with it. wouldn't watch it again (about 2 viewings)

Now I Know Why I Quit Bowling

[ray-280 · 10/10 · 16 August 2005]

I say this in a good way: this film captures bowling's underbelly, where even the pro stars sometimes have to supplement their income the old-fashioned way: by taking it directly from obviously weaker bowlers who somehow manage to be convinced to risk their money. Just as poker games are often won with guns, bowling for money has hazards all its own, something I learned even as a junior bowler hustling games after the league on Saturday.

Roy E. Munson (Woody Harrelson) is such a loser that acting like a total loser is actually called "being Munsoned." The term is named after an incident where some victims of a bowling hustle relieve Roy of his right hand in a gruesome manner which involves bowling equipment. Somehow, even THAT manages to be funny, which speaks to the quality of this film, a film smart enough to have its three main stars on screen for most of the time. The 1979 accident was the result of Roy taking the fall for the hustle engineered by legendary bowler Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray).

Fast forward to 1996, and Roy stumbles across an Amish bowler named Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid), the most talented bowler he's ever come across. He offers to coach Ishmael for a $1 million tournament in Reno, Nevada that can save his family farm, but Ishmael is conflicted (the deepest emotion of the film) because he has strayed from the Amish country. Ishmael's brother is the requisite family member sent to bring the stray relative back home, and Vanessa Angel is extra-hot as the love interest for almost every guy in the film.

If you think this is a parody of bowling, the joke may be on you. Hang around enough lanes, in certain places, and you just might see these guys or something very close to them. Just be careful if they look drunk and want to play for money.

Hey Pittsburgh

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 26 May 2020]

When I was a kid, Beaver Valley Bowl always seemed so intimidating. How strange then that it's the place where Roy Munson has his hand smashed and his bowling career ruined. I never had such a bad time there myself, but you always felt like something could go badly. That scene where they walk up the steps and Roys asks, "People bowl here?" They didn't fake a single thing about that place. It has always looked that frightening.

Kingpin is filmed in and around the bowling alleys of Pittsburgh. You can see just about every major lane in the film, other than my favorite, the Hollywood Show Lanes inside Arsenal Lane with their giant photo of Telly Savalas, autographed with "Who loves you, baby?"

I'm sure that everyone has seen this movie, but you'd do well to watch it again and appreciate the magic that is Bill Murray in this movie. Every single moment he's on screen is perfect. That scene where he bowls three strikes in a row? That's real. He also ad libbed just about every line in the entire movie.

It's worth remembering that before assassins began hunting down Randy Quaid, he was a pretty wonderful comedic actor. This is also probably one of the first times that many realized who Lin Shaye was.

At one point, Michael Keaton was to play Munson, with Chris Farley as Ishmael and Charles Rocket as Big Earl. Jim Carrey was another choice to play the evil bowler.

It's also worth noting that the character Seabass from Dumb and Dumber (played by Cam Neely) is a confirmed relative of this movie's Skidmark, who is Roger Clemens.

Many of the lanes in this movie are gone. We'll always have this movie to remember them by.

Pitifully unfunny gross-out film.

[rejoefrankel · 1/10 · 16 February 2000]

Kingpin wants to be the film that people talk about and grimace with a smile. It wants to be the ultimate in politically incorrect, tasteless, gross-out comedy, but it fails miserably. There is virtually nothing in this film that warrants two hours of the discriminating viewer's time OR the usually gifted cast. A waste of celluloid. As forgettable as it is unfunny.

A Good Time

[Wild-2 · 17 October 1998]

"Kingpin" is a hilarious, laugh at loud comedy. But what Farrelly Brother's movie isn't. See this and every other movie they made.

The crass breakout Farrelly Brothers comedy still holds up

[a_chinn · 7/10 · 12 July 2018]

I saw this back in the day in the theater at a midnight showing and loved it. "Kingpin" was a box office disappointment upon it's original release, but it found it's audience on home video and became something of a cult classic. The set-up is basically "The Natural" except instead of a 1920s Robert Redford having his baseball career cut short, we have a 1970s Woody Harrelson's promising professional bowling career cut short. Harrelson resurfaces 20 something years later to mentor an Amish bowling prospect, Randy Quaid, in order to get payback against bowling star Bill Murray, who was responsible for Harrelson's career ending bowling injury. Suffice to say, it's not the story that made this film memorable. It's the many over-the-top hilarious gags and some surprisingly earnest characters that make this film still hold up today. Some of he best gags involve Harrelson's rubber hand, the foul mouthed Lin Shaye, Harrelson trying to pass as Amish, Quade getting some cold drinks, and an odd Indecent Proposal sequence involving a cameo by Chris Elliott, but it's really Bill Murray who steal every scene that he's in, whether he's mugging after losing a bowling match, doing a self serving infomercial, or something as small as his bad hair combover, he is absolutely hilarious in what might arguable be his best comedic performance (and that's saying something). It's really too bad Murray's part is a supporting role, but it may be his limited screen time that makes his performance so special. Writer/directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly had previously made the popular (and I believe critically underrated) "Dumb and Dumber," but it was this film that helped pave the way for the slew of raunchy 90s comedies that followed, such as "American Pie," the Farrellys own "There's Something About Mary," all the way up to "Superbad." The 80s certainly had it's fair share of Porky's inspired raunch, but this new generation is a bit more story and character driven than their sleazier 80s counterparts. The main weakness of "Kingpin" is that the sappy maudlin elements of the story, which do certainly make the characters more empathetic, are often incongruous with the raunchy and absurd comedic elements. It's hard to go from Harrelson "milking" a bull or "paying" his rent to his hideous landlady to caring whether he finds redemption and self respect. However, "Kingpin" remains an enjoyably crass and rude comedy that although not be for all tastes is a hilarious treat if you can get into the spirit of the film. Vanessa Angel, Richard Tyson, Rob Moran, and Daniel Greene also appear in the film.

Kingpin is an awesome movie and thats all I really need to say.

[dobbin-4 · 7/10 · 27 September 2007]

Kingpin is one of Farrely brothers early movies which makes you laugh from start to finish. The movies is about Roy Munson(Woody Harrelson) a bowler who may just be the best ever for the sport. After a freak accident caused by Ernie Mcracken(Bill Murray)he can never bowl again. After 17 years he meets Ishmael(Randy Quaid) an Amish who secretly bowls at the local shack and of course takes him under his wing the only way the Farrely Brothers know how. The movie is hilarious the whole way and even though could of risked putting Bill Murray in a bit more it was definitely one of the best Farrely Brothers movies. Overall the movie is a must watch for any fan of such movies as There's something about Mary, Dumb and Dumber and other movies along that line or if you just wanna watch a movie that will make you laugh. I rate this movie 73%.

An abrasive comedy that is not for all tastes

[mulhollandman · 10/10 · 26 August 2006]

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

Typical 90's Pulp Comedy -- Turn off your brain and enjoy

[mikayakatnt · 7/10 · 30 October 2019]

A typical 90's pulp fiction comedy movie.

Kingpin is such a silly movie that knows that it's not going to take itself seriously. There's a certain charm with the over-the-topness humor that the film uses. Some great humorous moments that hold solid even by today's standard.

3.5/5. Leave it up to the Farrelly Brothers to make a pretty solid comedy movie about bowling. Kudos to them for going places that no one else would.

I Haven't laughed THIS hard at the movies too often

[KUAlum26 · 9/10 · 22 July 2006]

Young Roy Munson has been raised to be a bowler.It's what he does best. In 1979,at the age of eighteen,Roy(Woody Harrelson from here on out)is at the top of his game and a bona-fide star in his Ohio hometown. After he beats Ace pro Ernie"The Big Ern"McCracken(Bill Murray,smarmy and snarkly as ever)in a match,he is raked into Ernie's con game and pays a dear price for it.

Seventen years later,Roy is anything but the local hero he once was. He lives in a seedy apartment in small town Pennsylvania,does odd sales jobs and has to "satisfy" his decrepit landlady to avoid the rent. It's at one of the bowling alleys that Roy does routes to that he witnesses one Ishmael Boorg(Randy Quaid,backing his scene stealing performance in ID4 with this bravura turn),a sweet,gentle Amish man-child who has a natural knack for bowling. Needing money and smelling a chance at scoring big time,Roy decides to take Ishmael under his wing.

On the way to a Million dollar tournament in Las Vegas,Roy and Ishmael pick up a comely stowaway and ally in a gangster's moll(VAnessa Angel) and bond from mishap to mishap.

There's nothing particularly brilliant or especially sharp about this offering,the second from the brothers Farrelly,but its uniqueness and lack of restraint on the gross-out humor make this movie a very easy watch(for those who love that kind of stuff,of course). Harrelson,Quaid,Murray and Angel move effortlessly through this flick,which may explain why it's so good. Since this film,the Farrellys have steadily moved away from the almost merciless gross-out gags of their films and has made seeing their films a little less riotous and fun,so this movie is a healthy reminder of what a little imagination(I mean,honestly...a movie about Bowling AND the Amish?)and mischief can make. A great cheap rent or cable TV movie.

A gross satire that works

[Ana_Banana · 7/10 · 24 January 2022]

On a second viewing (after the disappointing first), it grows on you, surprisingly. Of course it's outrageous in places, but somehow it manages to turn this into a peculiar kind of humor, highlighted through repetition (well, see the landlady's recurrent appearances). It has some really laughable lines, situations and scenes, and its very situation (bowling glory) is especially prone to satire and ridicule addressed to its exaggerated subculture (hence, also to other aspects of society).

Entertaining But Falls Apart Towards The End

[peeedeee-94281 · 5/10 · 9 October 2019]

I finally got around to watching this Farrelly brothers movie. I've seen Dumb & Dumber, There's Something About Mary, etc... I thought I had scene Kingpin, but as I watched it, it didn't seem familiar. The story wasn't quite original. A star athelete who gets down on his luck and finds a protege to coach to greatness - its been done many times before. This one was set in the world of bowling. For this movie, unfortunately, you have to set a lot of the logic aside to really find it funny. Like an Amish guy who is an expert bowler and is able to hide it from his family (strangely, they kept calling him a 'boy', Randy Quaid looked older than Woody Harrelson). Somehow they are able to travel across the country with almost no money, with the intention of arriving in Reno Nevada to enter a bowling tournament? But where the movie really falls apart is the whole thing was a set up for Randy Quaid's Ishmael character to shine in Reno. But then he hurts his hand, and Woody Harrelson's Roy decides to bowl instead. Huh? So you think, hmm, how is he going to bowl with his left hand? Is he going to have time to practise? No, the movie instead has him using his prosthetic hand to bowl. Now, throughout the movie, we've been shown how the hand is more like a glorified rubber glove. It's very flimsy, and can come off easily. The fingers have no support, so they're easily bent back. Yet, Roy suddenly is able to carry a 12lb bowling ball in that hand?!! That's where the movie really loses me. Then you have Ishmael leaving without saying goodbye, so you think that Roy is mad at him, because Ishmael didn't even stay to see him win or lose. And even though Roy manages to earn some money (who pays a $500,000 advance for advertising?), he gives it all just to save Ishmael's Amish community. Seems a bit too generous, even if he did get the love of bowling back, kind of. So while this comedy has some enjoyable moments, the way Roy is able to bowl competitively after not having bowled in 17 years, and with a soft rubber glove, doesn't really hold up. But I will say I did find the fly away comb-overs that Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson had in that final match was pretty funny. Yes, I get it's a comedy, but come on, this isn't set in a fantasy world on a fantasy planet. Farrelly brothers should have come up with a better final 20 minutes.

No Gutter Balls Here.

[anaconda-40658 · 10/10 · 21 July 2015]

Kingpin (1996): Dir: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly / Cast: Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, Bill Murray, Lin Shaye: One of the best comedies of 1996. Woody Harrelson plays champion bowler Roy Munson who quests to regain the potential he once had. He was betrayed seventeen years prior, which resulted in his rubber hand. Unable to regain the spotlight, he sets his sights to train an Amish citizen who bowls in secret. They are eventually joined by Vanessa Angel who flees from an abusive relationship. Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly who scored big with the very funny Dumb and Dumber but the screenplay here is tighter and much more detailed. It has effective sight jokes but more importantly it has an ending of unpredicted satisfactory. Harrelson plays off the desperation to be a winner and we can sense his pain and regret. Randy Quaid is hilarious as the gullible yet sincere Amish bowler who desires to champion his family during financial crises. Angel plays off toughness with vulnerability as she remains one step ahead of Munson. Bill Murray steals scenes as a competing bowler who betrayed Munson and displays no signs of remorse that isn't met with sarcasm. Lin Shaye makes a hilarious scene stealing cameo as Roy's angry landlord whose methods of payoff leave Munsion puking his guts out in a toilet. Hilarious comedy about restoration stamped with a rubber hand. Score: 10 / 10

The Amish and Bowling. Brilliant!

[ryan_kuhn · 7/10 · 13 February 2005]

Only the Farrelly brothers could envision a story featuring a down-and-out has been bowler, played to perfection by Woody Harrelson, and the Amish, specifically the naive bowling prodigy played by Randy Quaid. I'm not really sure what brought these two world together in the Farrelly's mind, but whatever it was, I'm glad they thought of it. A very funny movie exploring what people will do when they have nothing to lose, not even their shame. Harrelson plays the once famous bowler Roy Munson who fell off the map in the 70s when his bowling had was removed from his body, coining the phrase "Munson-ed," meaning to be at the top and throw it all away. To help pay the bills, he meets Isheael (Quaid) who has great natural talent at bowling and is convinced by Munson to go to Reno to play in the national championship. Between the Amish settlement and Reno, the two go through various adventures that often pay tribute to Ishmael's Amish naiveté, such as the confusion over who actually has to pay for a lap-dance, and famous scenes from other movies, most notably ones from The Hustler. Kingpin also features Bill Murray in one of his fantastic roles, this time as the swarmmy bowling champion Ernie McCracken. We get the sense that all of the characters in the movie are desperate, either for money for his people, Ishmael goes along on the trip to win money for his Amish settlement, or to reclaim fame and fortune, Munson, or to just be known as the best, McCracken, and it's the desperation that leads to the comedy and the human touch. The film also features Vanessa Angel as a bimbo who helps Munson and Ishmael out of tough spot, and "Jefferson's on Ice!" perhaps one of the funniest TV parodies in a movie. Just look at Weezie go!

tries very hard to be funny.

[triple8 · 4/10 · 3 April 2005]

I'm sorry. I love love LOVE Woody Harrelson and I love comedies and I really like Bowling! So I wanted to really really like this movie. But I didn't.

It's tough to say why but just a few thoughts are....this movie tries REALLY hard to be funny. I felt that immediately. I didn't think it was though nor did I think the story was that strongly interesting. I found certain things funny but never hilarious and the movie sometimes seemed to be just creeping along. Although Harrelson is great, I prefer him in Dramas.

I did enjoy the scenery and the bowling theme. I just didn't get into the movie itself, many clichés and the humor was very forced. I wouldn't call Kingpin dreadful(it's gotton some pretty bad reviews.) But it'll never go down as my favorite either.