Kingpin (1996) Review

 

Kingpin (1996)

Kingpin follows Roy Munson, a star bowler whose career was prematurely “cut off”, hoping to ride a new prodigy to success 17 years later. 

I have, up to this point, mastered that weird internal laughing movies often bring out of (or in) you. Kingpin is the perfect internal laughter movie, being a hilariously dumb redemption flick that will have you perpetually rolling your eyes and shaking your head. In terms of plot, it’s pretty standard with your typical sports comeback story thing going on, it’s just the way it goes about that makes an already funny story, funnier. Roy isn’t your handsome, Shane Falco type. He’s a middle aged bowler, with a comb-over and a rubber hand, who’s prodigy to the top is an Amish guy who knows little to nothing about the world. 

The second best bowling movie (behind Lebowski), Kingpin is also staggeringly deep and full of heart. So much of it builds around Ishmael being the savior so to speak, while still focusing on Roy, making his redemption sort of out of left field, but natural all the same. It was, in the end, about Ishmael and Roy healing and teaching one another to live, experience, and grow in understanding of themselves, others,  and how the world really is. 

The movie sports some great performances from Vanessa Angel, Randy Quaid, Bill Murray, and Woody Harrelson. It’s great finally seeing Murray as a villain type, considering just how big of a lovable dick he is in most movies, with Kingpin simply taking out the lovable and replacing it with ridiculous amounts of ego and a terrible comb-over. Harrelson is also terrific, bringing that steady of balance of slapstick comedy and justified assholism, that is is amazing at capturing.

Kingpin, directed by the Farrelly Brothers (who are remarkably good at boneheaded comedies, also did Dumb & Dumber), is a juvenile look at the underbelly of professional bowling and a movie for everybody who feels like they blew an opportunity in life, which is just about all of us from time to time, never focusing on the accomplishment (or lack of), but the journey that brought these unlikely individuals together at all. 

7.6/10