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Kingpin

Play trailer 1:19 Poster for Kingpin PG-13 Released Jul 4, 1996 1h 53m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) is a young bowler with a promising career ahead of him until a disreputable colleague, Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray), tricks him into participating in a con game that ends with Roy's bowling hand crippled for life. Years later, Roy ekes out a hardscrabble existence until he discovers Amish bowling phenom Ishmael (Randy Quaid). With the help of a gangser's girlfriend (Vanessa Angel), he plots to take Ishmael to the top of the bowling world.
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Kingpin

Kingpin

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Critics Consensus

Kingpin has its moments, but they're often offset by an eagerness to descend into vulgar mean-spiritedness.

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Critics Reviews

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Clayton Dillard Slant Magazine The Farrellys’ style of comedy is at its best when it gives space to the comedic performers to meld their comedic sensibilities with the filmmakers’ own. Jun 4, 2025 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader This bad-taste comedy about bowling champs, from the dudes who brought you Dumb and Dumber, decides to go scummy and scummier by blatantly ripping off several scenes... Jun 14, 2022 Full Review Scott Tobias The Dissolve Kingpin makes inspired comedy by channeling the Weber spirit-and the humble reality of the circuit-through the frame of an inspirational sports movie. Rated: 4/5 Oct 22, 2014 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a pervasively uneven comedy that just isn't able to overcome its various deficiencies... Rated: 2/4 Nov 18, 2014 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy [UPDATED 2025 4K + BLU-RAY REVIEW] It's Bill Murray who easily swipes the picture -- he's at his unctuous best as Ernie McCracken, an oily bowler with an ego as enormous as his libido. Rated: 3/4 Nov 9, 2014 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) The combination of the overkill factor and a basic mean-spiritedness finally sinks it for me. Rated: 2.5/5 Oct 10, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Angelo G 😂 Cool bowling movie and has a lot of funny moments. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/12/25 Full Review David J One of the Greats. A Dirty, Beautiful, Sad Little Masterpiece There’s something about Kingpin that stays with you, like the smell of stale beer in a rented bowling shoe, or a sad little combover trembling in the breeze. On the surface, it’s crude, juvenile, full of Farrelly Brothers filth. But look a little closer and it’s actually a film about disappointment, compromise, and crawling your way back from total failure, all while being absolutely, ridiculously hilarious. Woody Harrelson is brilliant as Roy Munson: a man who peaks too early, loses everything, and is left bitter, broke, and sporting a prosthetic hand that gets more action than he does. He plays it with this pitch-perfect mix of weariness and stubborn optimism. He knows he’s pathetic, but he still dares to hope, and that’s kind of devastating, in the best way. Then you’ve got Randy Quaid as Ishmael, a sweet, naive Amish man who’s never seen a bowling ball in his life but somehow throws strikes. Quaid leans into the physical comedy, but never at Ishmael’s expense, he makes him endearing, not just a punchline. You end up rooting for him in a way you didn’t expect. And then, Bill Murray. God-tier chaos. Big Ern McCracken is everything awful about fame, ego, and sportsmanship, wrapped up in a salmon silk shirt and the worst hairpiece ever committed to film. Murray improvises most of it, and you can feel the glee radiating off him in every scene. He’s a monster, but a magnetic one. When he bowls that final frame with the crowd chanting his name? You hate him. And you love him for it. Vanessa Angel holds her own amongst the madness, smart, sharp, never quite what you expect from the “love interest” role. She’s not just eye candy, she’s another hustler, trying to survive in a game full of losers and liars. What makes Kingpin special is that it doesn't care if it's ugly. It embraces the failure, the grime, the weirdos, and still manages to be kind. It’s about people who’ve been chewed up by life, but are still reaching for something, even if it’s just a plastic trophy and a little self-respect. It’s gross. It’s sweet. It’s tragic. And it’s very, very funny. A perfect film, in its own broken way. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/29/25 Full Review Audience Member This sucked. Very little about it was funny. The end was semi-redeeming. Had a good moment or two, but not worth watching. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 05/31/25 Full Review Jen W This movie deserves more love. I laugh non stop every time I watch it Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/25 Full Review m s A classic! Bill + Woody? Shhhheeeyat. Seen it 50 times and still love it Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/25 Full Review Tom W A wholesome classic, full of hilarious moments. There’s lore, there’s Bill Murray, Amish and a hook for a hand, what’s not to like? This is an absolutely awesome comedy, they don’t make them like this anymore! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/24/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Kingpin

Kingpin: Official Clip - A Real Munson Kingpin: Official Clip - A Real Munson 2:09 Kingpin: Official Clip - Working off Rent Kingpin: Official Clip - Working off Rent 1:44 Kingpin: Official Clip - Milking the Bull Kingpin: Official Clip - Milking the Bull 2:03 Kingpin: Official Clip - Munson vs. McCracken Kingpin: Official Clip - Munson vs. McCracken 2:20 Kingpin: Official Clip - Parking Lot Fight Kingpin: Official Clip - Parking Lot Fight 1:51 Kingpin: Official Clip - The Final Frame Kingpin: Official Clip - The Final Frame 2:13 Kingpin: Official Clip - The Tournament Begins Kingpin: Official Clip - The Tournament Begins 2:16 Kingpin: Official Clip - Hustling a Priest Kingpin: Official Clip - Hustling a Priest 2:16 Kingpin: Official Clip - The Tattoo Kingpin: Official Clip - The Tattoo 1:06 Kingpin: Official Clip - Bowling Distractions Kingpin: Official Clip - Bowling Distractions 2:13 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) is a young bowler with a promising career ahead of him until a disreputable colleague, Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray), tricks him into participating in a con game that ends with Roy's bowling hand crippled for life. Years later, Roy ekes out a hardscrabble existence until he discovers Amish bowling phenom Ishmael (Randy Quaid). With the help of a gangser's girlfriend (Vanessa Angel), he plots to take Ishmael to the top of the bowling world.
Director
Robert Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Producer
Steven Stabler, Bradley Thomas, Brad Krevoy
Screenwriter
Barry Fanaro, Mort Nathan
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Motion Picture Corporation of America, Rysher Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Crude Sex-Related Humor|A Drug Scene)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 4, 1996, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Jul 26, 1996
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 14, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$25.0M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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