Kingpin

Every so often in life you stumble across a little gem..............a hugely enjoyable piece of entertainment that you just didn't even know existed. Ok,ok, I don't know where I have been since 1996 when the Farrelly brothers comedy film, Kingpin was released. I have seen Something About Mary, by the same writers, and found it amusing in parts. But Kingpin is much better. It is crude and rude, even tasteless and disgusting in places. Definitely for an adult audience, though in fairness young teens will enjoy some of the bowling scenes and the vulgarity will largely pass them by.

Unlike many comedy films, Kingpin has an interesting story line and well developed characterisation. Roy Munson, played by Woody Harrelson, is a talented ten pin bowler as a child and fulfills his promise as a hot prospect by defeating Ernie 'Big Ern' McCracken (Bill Murray), in the State final. McCracken is a slippery, devious character whose nastiness to Munson culminates in the pair hustling local bowlers after tricking them with a ' two drunks' routine. One con too many leads to Munson being fed to the ball-return by a furious group of deceived players, resulting in his bowling hand being chopped off. McCracken does a runner and Munson blames him for the fact that his sporting career is over and that his right arm now also comprises of a hook and a rubber hand.

The film moves on to present day and Munson is a mess; he has a drink problem, lives in squalor and has a truly horrific landlady (Lin Shaye) to whom he always owes rent. He thinks his luck has changed when he meets Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid), a good bowler and a member of the Amish community. Munson wants Ishmael to turn pro but he refuses and has no interest due to his cultural upbringing, until it turns out that his village has a financial problem. It coincides with a bowling tournament in Reno for a million dollars - winner takes all. So Ishmael agrees to give it a go to save his community.

It soon becomes apparent that Ishmael is a good bowler but not that good, despite all the coaching Munson gives him. The pair resort to hustling and fall foul of a dangerous gangster who is not against cheating himself, using his sex tease of a girlfriend, Claudia (Vanessa Angel), to put off opponents just as they are about to bowl.When the gangster loses to Ishmael he hits Claudia but then discovers the pair had no money to gamble with in the first place.They manage a quick escape and are joined by the girl, who spots a money making opportunity. Soon Claudia is using her sexuality to distract Ishmael's rivals and they are quickly raking in some cash.

The film rolls on towards it's climax............the Reno tournament. McCracken, predictably, returns to the scene, and is hot favourite to scoop the prize. Old resentments flare in Munson, but disaster follows when Ishmael breaks his hand hitting the wall (the punch was aimed at McCracken). So Roy 'Rubber Man' Munson has no option but to take his place. Everyone expects McCracken to make the final but not Munson - 'the one time rising star who disappeared'. But Munson wins his matches one by one, setting up the inevitable grand final. McCracken, with his sequined shirts and disastrous hair style puts on a great slime-ball performance and beats a despairing Munson to the prize. It looks like we are heading for a sad ending ; Munson still broke and back in his seedy house, Ishmael returning to his bankrupt township and ready to explain to his family about the debauchery he has fallen into, and Claudia gone ( first with McCracken whom she had earlier, it turns out , had a sexual relationship with , then back to her gangster boyfriend).

The humour in Kingpin is grubby but very very funny. The plot is so well worked and developed , the film easily gets away with some hard-core gags. It turns out a procession of laughs almost all the way through. As you might expect the rubber hand is well used. The innocence of Ishmael and his total naivety to the ways of hot Claudia is a constant source of amusement.There is a great scene involving Claudia's nipples at the freezer (use your imagination) which was an attempt to put him off his game. It had absolutely no effect on him. Ishmael does however soon learn some worldly ways of his own, taking up a job as a drag stripper at one point. Munson shows how useless he is whilst living in the Amish town. He milks a bull and drinks the contents of the bucket !! Then he is asked to remove the shoes off the horses. He cuts their feet off !! There is a great laughter scene where a horse , having lost a few inches in height can no longer quite see over it's stable gate. Perhaps the most appalling moment in Kingpin involves Munson's landlady, a grotesque woman with whom he has to have sex to pay his rent. Don't ask me to explain but the scene is fantastically funny, maybe it was her in bed smoking a cigarette with him chucking up continuously in the background after they had finished.

All the actors put in great performances. Bill Murray kind of steals the show with his portrayal of McCracken in the final showdown. The character is as dislikeable as you could imagine. Woody Harrelson is a lovable rogue as Munson and puts in a great performance. Randy Quaid is very believable as Ishmael and had the perfect, almost child like, facial expressions. The two women, Vanessa Angel and Lin Shaye both left erotic marks on the male audience, though for entirely different reasons.

Thankfully, the ending does turn out happy. Claudia turns up at Munson's place. She has cash, which she has robbed from the gangster. Munson has even better news. A condom company likes 'Rubber Man' and has paid him half a million dollars to promote their products. There is of course only one place the money can go, to Ishmael and his family, which Munson and Claudia deliver before driving off into the sunset together.

I had no intention of watching this movie.................but I just could not leave it once it had started. Not sure why it has taken eleven years to enter my life but it sure was worth it.