Kingpin (1996)

What a strange comedy this turned out to be. Of course, that's not a shock considering you have Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid and Bill Murray starring. Now there's a stable, conservative trio!!

This actually has some very funny moments. At first I was afraid it was going to be too irreverent to the Amish - and there definitely was some of that with Quaid's character, who is made to look like a total dimwit, who has no knowledge of the Bible and is easily led - NO characteristics of an Amish person, BUT the film really isn't mean-spirited and it does show respect for the Amish in a number of scenes. However, it's still very much a sleazy film and the writers wouldn't have done this with any other non-Christian character.

All the characters in here, including the profane female lead played by Vanessa Angel (who?), are fun to watch. The most outrageous, in a minor role, is the female landlord who has to be seen to be believed.

Bowlers will especially like this film since a good part of it centers around that. A number of PBA members put it cameo performances. One scene, with the fake hand attached to the bowling ball as it returns from the ball rack had me almost in tears laughing, for some reason. Murray's take on the flamboyant bowler (and there have been a few over the years on the Pro Bowlers Tour) is hilarious.

Crude, but a funny film for the most part.

Fmovies: this is a great movie , the jokes so smart , and very nice 60-70 sound truck , the movie is a combination of a road movie and self definition movie. bill Morey plays the bad guy and he adds his touch of comedy , Ishmael and his jokes are historical, especially one Ishmael end up working as a female striper, and when he discover a small tattoo one the chest not noticing the side to side tattoo at his back. some parts may be considered a bit racial , but all on all this movie is very funny. the scene where woody Harrison milks the bill is eternal. the end as always a happy end. in Iraq this movie was a hit , and still available at video rent shelfs.not much cgi, Vanessa Angel definitely plays a nice part and she is a very hot one, the scene of fight between her and woody was to much and you can see the sub performing.

I enjoyed this film a great deal. There were many hilarious gags and some clever satirical sideswipes, and the main performers were excellent. Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid made a superb team, and both were quite moving at times.

However, I must mention the extraordinary comic genius of Bill Murray here, as in this film he provided me with what must be one of the funniest scenes in the history of movies -- a very simple gag that was really bound to happen, yet I wasn't expecting it. It is the climactic scene where he and Harrelson are the finalists in the tournament, and twice involves his comb-over ...

I can't go any further. I'm laughing so much. My sister and I missed the rest of the film as we bust our guts in absolute hysterics as Murray performed little victory dances (one involving his shoulder-blades almost killed me) while totally oblivious to the state that his hair was in ...

I don't want to spoil it for you. Just rent out the film, watch it with a friend, forget that I mentioned this scene, and when it happens it will catch you unawares and you will hopefully laugh yourself silly.

Ernie McCracken really was the biggest loser in the film, as he thought he was cool and suave, yet he had a terrible hairstyle (two, actually) and was a disgusting, selfish and unfeeling pervert. He plays a big role in the plot, but Murray's outstanding performance makes him so self-absorbed and bereft of any real humanity that he is almost completely separate from the movie -- there really is no point in him being there, apart from to provide us with enormous laughs and upstage everyone else and all the important things in the film. He just exists for himself and his own satisfaction, and everything about him is insincere.

When you watch it you will know what I mean when I say that he really seems to be one of the most unimportant important characters I've seen. Murray really is in a league of his own when it comes to cynicism and wry, dry and ironic humour; his gift is his ability to allow his casual arrogance to remove all pomposity and sentimentality, and mock everything that's important, so you can't do anything but laugh.

When he re-entered the film, I really couldn't care less what the outcome was going to be. I just laughed as he signed an autograph for a beautiful female fan and whispered to her what room he was staying in; and as he jokingly apologised for the appalling damage he had inflicted on Roy Munson (Harrelson), which had completely ruined his life 17 years earlier, and then selfishly began to make light of the matter, before avoiding a few punches from Ishmael (Quaid) and running off quickly while telling Claudia (Vanessa Angel) what room he was staying in.

And all the while, he has a hairstyle that is worse than Munson's and Ishmael's put together.

Man, that's some good tasting comedy.

Kingpin fmovies. 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.

Truly the greatest US film comedy's ever made.

Comedy is born out of tragedy and Roy Munson story certainly was one of that.

Bill Murray gives his best performance since Ghostbuster 1984

Woody Harrelson , an amazin comic actor delivers his best.

Great story. Hilarious one liners...

And remember. ..

A bowlers worst enemy is his eyes and his ears !

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.