Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

sol- Strapped for cash, an injured former bowling champion hatches a cunning plan to coach a talented young man to lucrative tournament success in this lively comedy from the Farrelly Brothers. As per Farrelly norm, the film is littered with crude humour and childish gross-out gags. Also, as per the Farrellys' earlier 'Dumb & Dumber', there are one too many gags at the expense of a main character's naivety. 'Kingpin' is frequently funny throughout though with even some of the cruder puns ("we have a bull") working well. Much of the film's success is due to how likable and empathetic Woody Harrelson is as the bowling champ whose life has gone downhill ever since his arm was severed. It is a character that could have easily been written as pathetic, but on the contrary, he is passionate and imaginative, going to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying the rent and to convince the talented young man (an Amish farmer) to take him on as coach. The film also benefits from Bill Murray at his funniest, some fun movie references ('The Graduate'; 'Indecent Proposal') and the way the story defies generic expectations and ends with loose ends as the fates of certain characters are not actually germane to the plot. And it is quite a warm tale that the film spins beneath its obscenities: a story of not giving up and the belief that all people can change.

Fubar Something about Kingpin just warms your heart. The characters are all very likable, Woody Harrelson is a relatable man going through hard times in his seemingly washed away existence, Bill Murray is absolutely hilarious as a slime ball villain, and Claudia is gorgeous and is very effective at stealing your attention.The beauty of this film lies in the re-viewings, the subtle things through out that add lots of humour and further develop the characters. I forgot to mention Randy Quaid, he is also brilliant in this film, the delivery of his lines are to a tee. So if you are someone who like me has a dirty mind and a cruel sense of humor, you will love Kingpin.

Robert J. Maxwell This often-amusing piece of trash begins with a scene out of Paul Newman's "The Hustler." Bill Murray sees the latent bowling talent in Woody Harrelson, cultivates it, and they set out hustling small-town rubes. Harrelson pretends to be drunk and is faced with an impossible frame. Everyone bets against him and when he makes the spare, he and Murray split the money. That is, until finally some clot of rubes wakes up to the scam and grinds Harrelson's bowling hand off, while Murray cheerfully speeds off alone.A tragic tale. Harrelson is a real down-and-outer in Baltimore, forced to service his landlady in lieu of the rent. She has a face like Euryale the gorgon and he vomits voluminously after the bout.Then he gets a lucky break. He spots a young man, Randy Quaid, from a neighboring Amish town who has the same talented touch with a bowling ball, and persuades him to take to the road. They hustle their way to the million-dollar championship bowl off in Reno, Nevada, picking up some enemies along the way, not to mention Vanessa Angel. The two final contestants are Harrelson, bowling with his hook instead of his hand, and the egomaniacal Murray.I didn't think it was as inventive as "There's Something About Mary". There is no equivalent of Ben Stiller's arrest at the roadside tea room. Yet it is funny and it gets funnier as it meanders along. Some of the gags are silly and pointless -- the burly Quaid dressed in tights and doing a pole dance. But there's wit in some of the visual gags -- Harrelson bending over a cute baby, making goo goo sounds, and chucking it under the chin with his hook while the mother's eyes bulge with anxiety.And the dialog has its moments too. "You know, you're not the most intelligent person on earth." "Oh, yeah, and who are you, Alfred Einstein?" Then there are the performances, uniformly professional. We'll begin with Vanessa Angel. Yes, let's begin with her. The English-born actress has a mellifluous voice, a little throaty, and is strikingly attractive, a paragon of pulchritude. Oh, yum.Quaid is a large, clumsy actor but his role rather suits him -- the stolid, God-fearing, son of the soil, who takes his first automobile ride and shortly afterwards is taking hits from a long blue bong.Harrelson doesn't exactly have an actor's elocution. He has a weak voice and usually sounds as if he's reading his lines from some off-screen cue card. But he excels at light comedy, especially when the comedy has a slightly deranged quality, as it does here.Murray plays it straight at first but the final confrontation in Reno gives him a chance to unwind. He is absolutely hilarious, seen on television in a parody of one of those ad miseracordiam commercials for "Unified Way". "Little Charlotte here has never eaten a hot dog in her life. She lives in poverty and depends on your donations to keep her alive." Meanwhile, Murray is copping feels from the local mothers and daughters. I laughed out loud when Murray wept with joy at the prospect of beating Harrelson at the championship bowl off.I'm glad we see a little bit of what looks like Reno too. Reno is a pleasant, laid back little city. I've spent many cozy nights there at the elegant Mapes Hotel, sleeping in the lobby.

tbills2 Kingpin's way up there among my favorite comedies, now, let's see, well, um, there's Dumb & Dumber (which was made by the Farrelly brothers & is my undisputed favorite comedy), there's Me, Myself & Irene (that was made by the Farrelly brothers), There's Something About Mary (made by the Farrelly brothers), and Shallow Hal (the Farrelly bros), Stuck On You, too (the Farrelly brothers made it!), aaaaaaaaand, oh yeah, Kingpin (made by, who else, the Farrelly brothers!). Wow, the Farrelly brothers make truly great comedies, don't they? These two brothers are incredibly funny as well as incredibly talented too. There's Something About Mary and Dumb & Dumber, I mean, those two alone. Those two alone are two of the best comedies ever made! And Kingpin is not too far behind them. Kingpin is just about the funniest movie. I love it. It's so good and funny all the way through.Woody Harrelson is simply golden as Roy Munson, former state champion bowler. Roy Munson is a tragically lovable soul. Woody is a real good and funny guy himself. Randy Quaid is hilarious as Ishmael. Randy Quaid was meant to do comedy; he really shines on screen. Vanessa Angel is gorgeous as Claudia. Vanessa is really so smoking hot in Kingpin. Her outfits that she wears, oh my God, they're too much. I tell ya, if I was given the power to create a beautiful woman all from scratch, you know, out of thin air, like with my computer or something, while I'm wearing a bra on my head, I am pretty sure that I'd create Vanessa Angel. She's unbelievable. (Note to self, go buy Weird Science DVD boxset immediately, is that available?) Listen, I don't want to make this entire review all about how hot Vanessa Angel is (oh wait, no, yes I do), but let me just say, I crush hard on Vanessa. She's something special. Somehow, I don't think that I'm alone.Kingpin is one classic comedy. If you can't believe me, just go watch it yourself, I mean, there's so much to laugh at! I gotta rate Kingpin a 7 but a strong 7, I mean, it's like honestly a 7.998, just barely under an 8, and mostly due to its story not being meaningfully heartfelt enough, that's the point I'm trying to make, Kingpin isn't meaningfully heartfelt enough to be a great 8, but it's oh so close. I love Kingpin, like I say, it's one of my favorite comedies. So all in closing, let me again say, I love Kingpin, Woody Harrelson is great, Roy Munson is a genuine hero, the Farrelly brothers are incredible, Randy Quaid's hilarious, Vanessa Angel is deeply hot, and Kingpin is way, way freaking laugh-out-loud funny! Go see for yourself! Thank you!(Oh and also, I about forgot, there's this one other man who is in Kingpin, he goes by the name, Bill Murray, and Bill's about the funniest, sweetest guy on the planet, and in Kingpin, Bill plays Ernie McCracken, who's like, the funniest, meanest guy on the planet)