A box office flop but now a cult comedy classic, Kingpin is a 1996 film starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray. The film tells the story of an alcoholic ex-professional bowler, Roy Munson (Harrelson), who becomes the manager for a promising Amish bowling prodigy named Ishmael (Quaid).

Roy and Ishmael set off on a road trip across the country to play in a $1 million winner-take-all tournament in Reno, Nevada. Roy tricks the naive Ishmael into hustling local bowlers along the way. After Ishmael defeats a wealthy bowling enthusiast named Stanley (Rob Moran), it is discovered that they bet with fake money so Roy and Ishmael flee from Stanley along with Stanley’s girlfriend Claudia (Angel).

When the trio finally make it to Reno, they run into Ernie McCracken (Murray), the man responsible for Roy’s career-ending injury who also now happens to be a famous world-class bowler. The story comes to a climactic finale at the spectacular National Bowling Stadium in Reno, NV. The nearby Silver Legacy Resort & Casino was also featured in the movie as well as other local highway and street scenes.

“Kingpin Official Trailer” by YouTube Movies

As is the case with most of his films, Bill Murray ad-libbed virtually every line he spoke. The directors would give Bill his lines in the morning but he insisted that he just run with it his own way. He was also a very good bowler and actually DID roll the 3 strikes needed to win the tournament. The reaction from the crowd was real.

The same could not be said for Woody Harrelson, who was so bad at it that bowling coaches were brought in to teach him how to look believable just throwing the ball down the lane. Because of this, stand-ins were used for most of the shots of Roy bowling.

Kingpin: Big Ern’s Final Bowl

“Big Ern’s Final Bowl” by Best Movie Quote

The Farrelly brothers, who directed the film, attribute its box office failure to the fact that they had no ads run during the 1996 Olympics. However, after rave reviews from Siskel and Ebert, the film was well received as soon as it was released on video and even became number one on video rentals for four weeks in a row, the first time that had ever happened for a movie that was never in the top four at the box office.

Kingpin is a hilarious comedy with an ensemble cast that makes this film one of the best comedies of all time. Whether you’ve never seen it or you’ve seen it a million times, check out Kingpin for a good laugh!

Sources:
https://www.ifc.com/2015/04/15-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-kingpin
https://www.fastcompany.com/3063158/the-farrelly-brothers-oral-history-of-kingpin-twenty-years-later

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