Kingpin (1996 film)

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Kingpin
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Farrelly
Bobby Farrelly
Written byBarry Fanaro
Mort Nathan
Produced byBrad Krevoy
Steve Stabler
Bradley Thomas
Starring
CinematographyMark Irwin
Edited byChristopher Greenbury
Music byFreedy Johnston
Production
companies
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer[2]
Release date
  • July 26, 1996 (1996-07-26)
Running time
114 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[4]
Box office$32.2 million[4]

Kingpin is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly and written by Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan. Starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel and Bill Murray, it tells the story of an alcoholic ex-professional bowler (Harrelson) who becomes the manager for a promising Amish talent (Quaid). It was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[5] as a stand-in for Scranton, Amish country, and Reno, Nevada.

The film was released on July 26, 1996, with a budget of $25 million, and grossed $32.2 million.

Plot

Flashy young bowler Roy Munson wins the 1979 Iowa state bowling championship and leaves home to turn professional. In his professional bowling tour debut, he defeats established pro Ernie McCracken, who takes the loss poorly and seeks revenge. McCracken convinces Roy to join him in hustling a group of local amateur bowlers. When the amateurs realize they are being conned, McCracken flees while Roy is brutally beaten and loses his hand when it is forced into the ball return, ending his career. Seventeen years later, Roy uses a prosthetic hand and is living in Scranton, Pennsylvania as an alcoholic, unsuccessful traveling salesman of bowling supplies. He is always behind on his rent and is constantly harassed by his landlady Mrs. Dumars, eventually being reduced to trade sexual favors with her for a break on his back rent.

On a sales visit to a nearby bowling alley, Roy meets Ishmael Boorg. Impressed by his talent and a claimed 270 average, Roy tries convincing Ishmael to turn pro, with Roy acting as manager. Ishmael declines, as he is from the local Amish community and that his bowling hobby is a secret. Roy then sees a poster in a bowling magazine advertising a $1 million winner-take-all tournament in Reno, Nevada. Learning that Ishmael's family is about to lose their farm to the bank, Roy eventually convinces Ishmael's family to let him join Roy.

Roy discovers that the childlike Ishmael is unaware of some of bowling's basic rules and skills. (His 270 average was because he was taught to bowl 15 frames and not ten.) However, after some coaching, Ishmael improves. The duo earn money in various local tournaments and by hustling bowlers. Ishmael defeats wealthy bowling enthusiast Stanley Osmanski, but Stanley attacks the duo after discovering the roll of cash Roy put up was fake. As the group flee Osmanski's mansion, Stanley’s girlfriend Claudia, who had also been a victim of Osmanski's violence, joins them. Roy suspects Claudia has ulterior motives and is distracting Ishmael. After Roy gets in a fistfight with her, Ishmael flees. During his absence, Roy and Claudia travel to Roy's hometown, which has been abandoned ever since his father died years earlier. Roy then confesses to Claudia he never returned for his father's funeral out of shame for his failure as a pro bowler. They eventually find Ishmael and continue on to Reno.

In Reno, the group encounters McCracken, who is now a national bowling superstar. McCracken insults Roy and infuriates Ishmael, who tries punching McCracken but instead hits a wall and breaks his hand, leaving him unable to bowl. Later on, Claudia disappears with their money after being discovered by Stanley. A distraught Ishmael convinces Roy that they still have a chance to win $1 million if Roy bowls. Roy enters the tournament, rolling the ball with his prosthetic rubber hand. He wins his first several rounds, ending up in the televised finals against McCracken. During the final match, Ishmael's brother, who had been sent by the Boorg family, arrives and takes Ishmael back to Pennsylvania. When Roy realizes he is alone, he struggles, and McCracken wins the tournament by one pin.

Later, Stanley confronts Roy in search of Claudia, who had double-crossed him and stolen his money. Although Roy assumed Claudia was with Stanley, he is able to shift the blame to McCracken after Stanley informs him that Claudia had called McCracken fourteen times in the last three days. Stanley and his goon leave to track down McCracken.

Afterwards, Roy returns to Scranton and pours his liquor down the drain. He is visited by Claudia, who explains she had disappeared with Stanley in Reno to keep him from hurting Roy and Ishmael. She made Stanley believe she was running away with McCracken, and confesses her love for Roy, offering him money Stanley earned from betting on McCracken in the finals. Roy responds he has already earned $500,000 in an endorsement deal for Trojan condoms based on his prosthetic rubber hand. Roy and Claudia visit Ishmael's family home. Ishmael's parents explain that Roy and Claudia told them about Ishmael's forbidden bowling career, but also about the moral strength and decency he showed during his travels. Roy tells them how Ishmael straightened out Roy and Claudia's lives, with Roy shown to have finally given up drinking. Roy pays off the Boorg family's debts with his endorsement check, and drives away with Claudia.

Cast

  • Woody Harrelson as Roy Munson, the 1979 Iowa State Amateur Bowling Champion and a bowling prodigy. Munson loses his right hand after being caught in a hustle and abandoned by Ernie McCracken. He spends the next twenty years as an alcoholic before meeting Ishmael.
  • Randy Quaid as Ishmael Boorg, an Amish man struggling to find his place among his people. He meets Roy after sneaking out to go bowling and decides to accompany Roy to Reno in a quest to save his home from foreclosure.
  • Vanessa Angel as Claudia, a beautiful woman who was dating Stanley until he physically abused her. She joins Ishmael and Roy and helps them earn the money they need to travel to Reno.
  • Bill Murray as Ernie "Big Ern" McCracken, Munson's arch-enemy. McCracken convinces the naive Munson to help him scam other bowlers but abandons Munson to face the consequences.
  • Lin Shaye as Mrs. Dumars, Roy's landlady.
  • Rob Moran as Stanley Osmanski, Claudia's ex-boyfriend. He pursues Claudia, Roy, and Ishmael across the country trying to get revenge for losing Claudia.
  • Chris Elliott as the gambler
  • Chris Schenkel as himself
  • Morganna, the Kissing Bandit as herself
  • P. W. Evans as himself

Cast notes:

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 49% approval rating based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's consensus, "Kingpin has its moments, but they're often offset by an eagerness to descend into vulgar mean-spiritedness."[8] On Metacritic, based on 14 reviews, the film holds a score of 43 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B−" on a scale of A+ to F.[10]

Roger Ebert had one of the more noteworthy positive reviews, giving it three and a half out of four stars.[11] Gene Siskel also endorsed the film, putting it on his list of the ten best films for 1996.[12]

Nancy Gerstman mentioned the film as one of the nine most underrated films in the 1990s.[13]

In 2018 Vulture.com listed it at #2 on a list of Woody Harrelson's best films.[14]

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). Both versions are available on the Blu-Ray disc issued by Paramount Pictures on October 14, 2014.

References

  1. ^ "Kingpin (1996)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "Kingpin (1996)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "KINGPIN (12)". British Board of Film Classification. June 6, 1996. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Kingpin (1996)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "City lands good share of movies" Archived November 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. The Vindicator. December 10, 1995. Archived at Google News. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  6. ^ Berkowitz, Joe (December 30, 2016). "The Farrelly Brothers' Oral History of "Kingpin," Twenty Years Later". Fast Company. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "The Lost Roles of Jim Carrey". March 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  8. ^ "Kingpin (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  9. ^ "Kingpin Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  11. ^ Roger Ebert. "Kingpin". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2006.
  12. ^ "TOP TEN MOVIES: 1969-1998". Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1999. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  13. ^ "Film Comment's Best of the Nineties Poll: Part Two". Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  14. ^ "Every Woody Harrelson Movie Performance, Ranked". November 11, 2019. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
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