In 1994,Peter and Bobby Farrellyhad a smash-hit slapstick comedy withDumb and Dumber. In 1997, they did it again withThere’s Something About Mary. In between, they madeKingpin, an overlooked entry in the Farrelly canon that is streaming Paramount+ this month. The film starsWoody Harrelson,Randy Quaid, andBill Murrayas competitors in the seedy world of professional bowling.
LikeThe Color of Moneywith fart jokes,Kingpinis about a once-great champion, now burned out, who finds a promising young prodigy and takes him under his wing. Of course, instead of pool,Kingpinis about the considerably less-cool sport of bowling. However, the Farrellys do manage to keep the movie out of the gutter with their customary dose of sincerity. Critics were generally not enamored of the film, as it holds a 44% “Rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, butRoger EbertandGene Siskelwere two notable exceptions; both raved about the film, and it was one of Siskel’s top ten movies of 1996.
What Is ‘Kingpin’ About?
Kingpincenters around Roy Munson (Harrelson), who was an up-and-coming bowling champ in the 1970s; after beating Ernie McCracken (Murray), McCracken convinced him to hustle a group of local bowlers. The scam went sideways and Munson was left holding the bag - resulting in him losing his bowling hand to a ball return machine. Twenty years later, Munson is an alcoholic traveling salesman with a cheap rubber prosthetic hand until he encounters Ishmael Boorg (Quaid), a young Amish man with unexpected bowling skills. The two men set out for a major bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada, but along the way, they run afoul of gangster Stanley Osmanski (Rob Moran); they escape his clutches with hisfemme fatalegirlfriend, Claudia (Vanessa Angel), in tow. After a series of misadventures, they reach Reno - where Munson will have to face down McCracken once more.
WhileDumb and DumberandThere’s Something About Marywere huge hits, Kingpin was a relative disappointment, making $32 million USD on a $25 million budget; that may be due to its release date, which put the film in the middle of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The film did find its audience on VHS, and back in 2021, the Farrelly Brothers were developing aKingpinsequel.
Kingpinwillis streaming on Paramount+ now. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
