Kingpin (1996 film)
| Kingpin | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by |
Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly |
| Produced by |
Brad Krevoy Steve Stabler Bradley Thomas |
| Written by |
Barry Fanaro Mort Nathan |
| Starring |
Woody Harrelson Randy Quaid Vanessa Angel Bill Murray |
| Music by | Freedy Johnston |
| Cinematography | Mark Irwin |
| Edited by | Christopher Greenbury |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 113 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27 million |
| Box office | $25,023,434 |
Kingpin is a 1996 American road sport buddy comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray. It was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[2] (as a stand-in for Scranton), Amish country, and Reno, Nevada.
Plot
Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) wins the 1979 state bowling championship, defeating an established pro named Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray). McCracken convinces Munson to help him hustle some bowlers, but McCracken flees when the con goes wrong and Roy loses his hand when the angry mob exacts revenge for being hustled by a ringer.
17 years later, Munson sells bowling alley supplies for a living, with little success. On a sales call, Roy catches sight of a man, Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid) rolling a respectable game. Roy tries to convince Ishmael to turn pro, with him acting as manager. Ishmael declines the offer, explaining that he is Amish and only bowls secretly. Roy sees a headline on a bowling magazine advertising a $1 million winner-take-all tournament. Learning that Ishmael's family is about to lose their farm to the bank for the exact amount of his cut of the prize money, Munson easily convinces Ishmael to join him. Roy discovers that Ishmael is not as skilled as he first thought, and after some coaching along the way Ishmael's game steadily improves.
Arriving in Reno, the pair runs into McCracken, who is now a bowling celebrity. McCracken insults Roy, and infuriates Ishmael to the point where he takes a swing at him. McCracken ducks and Ishmael hits a wall and breaks his hand, leaving him unable to bowl. Ishmael convinces Roy that they still have a chance to win the $1,000,000 – if Roy will bowl.
Roy finally agrees and enters the tournament, rolling the ball with his prosthetic rubber hand. Roy steadily gets back into the game and ends up in the finals against McCracken. Ishmael's brother shows up to take him home and Roy suddenly realizes he's alone and McCracken ultimately wins the tournament by one pin.
Roy earns $500,000 for an endorsement deal for Trojan condoms. The story ends with Roy giving the $500,000 to the Amish so their community can be saved. Roy has also covered for Ishmael's indiscretions on the road and portrays him as a hero to his family.
Cast
- Woody Harrelson as Roy Munson
- Will Rothhaar as young Roy
- Randy Quaid as Ishmael Boorg
- Vanessa Angel as Claudia
- Bill Murray as Ernie "Big Ern" McCracken
- Chris Elliott as The Gambler
- William Jordan as Mr. Boorg
- Richard Tyson as Stiffy's owner
- Lin Shaye as Mrs Dumars the Landlady
- Zen Gesner as Thomas
- Prudence Wright Holmes as Mrs. Boorg
- Steve Tyler as Gas Station Attendant
- Rob Moran as Stanley Osmanski
- Danny Greene as Calvert Munson
- Willie Garson as Purse snatcher
- Chris Schenkel as himself
- Nelson Burton, Jr. as himself
- P. W. Evans as himself
- Morganna Roberts as Kissing Bandit
Reception
The film has received mixed reviews from critics; Rotten Tomatoes currently gives the film a score of 51% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8 out of 10. The consensus states: "Kingpin has its moments, but they're often offset by an eagerness to descend into vulgar mean-spiritedness."[3]
Roger Ebert had one of the more noteworthy positive reviews, giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars.[4] Gene Siskel enthusiastically endorsed the film, putting it on his list of the ten best films for 1996.
The film is ranked #68 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".[5]
Home media
When released on DVD, Kingpin came in its original PG-13 theatrical version (113 minutes) and an extended, R-rated version (117 minutes).
Promotion
Lin Shaye attended a 1996 live airing of a Professional Bowlers Tour event in Wichita, Kansas, to both promote the film and present the winner (Jess Stayrook) with the winner's trophy and prize money. Stayrook defeated Butch Soper, who had won the first three matches.
References
- ↑ "KINGPIN (12)". British Board of Film Classification. June 6, 1996. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- ↑ "City lands good share of movies". The Vindicator. December 10, 1995. Archived at Google News. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Kingpin (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ↑ Roger Ebert. "Kingpin". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/list/ls003706501/
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Kingpin |
- Kingpin at the Internet Movie Database
- Kingpin at Box Office Mojo
- Kingpin at Rotten Tomatoes
- Kingpin at Metacritic
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