Kingpin (1996) Movie Overview

Kingpin is a 1996 slapstick comedy film, directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray. It was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a stand-in for Scranton, Amish country and even Reno, Nevada. Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) is a bowling prodigy who wins the 1979 Iowa state amateur championship and plans to leave his tiny hometown of Ocelot to go on the Professional Bowlers Tour. He wins his first tournament, defeating an established pro named Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray) in the finals and earning his enmity. McCracken sabotages Roy’s car, then convinces him to join in a bowling cash game hustle for the money to repair it. The scheme goes awry when the marks realize they’ve been hustled; Roy is abandoned by McCracken and the angered marks amputate Roy’s right hand by shoving it into a bowling ball-return mechanism. In present day, a down-and-out Munson sports a prosthetic hook covered with a fake rubber hand and sells bowling alley supplies for a living, with little success. Roy resides in a seedy apartment building in Scranton, Pennsylvania where an unpleasant landlady (Lin Shaye) is constantly after him to p… Source

• Kingpin Movie Details
• Tagline: A comedy right up your alley.
• Country: USA
• Run Time: 113 min | USA:117 min (R-rated version)
• Genre: Comedy , Sport

• Cast Overview
• Woody Harrelson as Roy Munson
• Randy Quaid as Ishmael
• Vanessa Angel as Claudia
• Bill Murray as Ernie McCracken
• Chris Elliott as The Gambler
• William Jordan as Mr. Boorg

Kingpin Movie Review from New York Times

In the ’70s, Roy Munsen (Woody Harrelson) was a bowling phenomenon. He was none too sharp about picking friends, though, and the champion he had to beat, “Big Ern,” takes him under his supposedly friendly wing. Big Ern (Bill Murray) shows him the high-living lifestyle, and induces him to go on the road with him, hustling small-town bowlers. A coupl… Source

Kingpin Movie Details from Imdb

Roy Munson was raised to be the best bowler in the world (trained early on by his father). But a fellow bowler, Ernie McCracken and a misunderstanding with some rough punks, leaves poor Roy with the loss of his bowling hand! Not to let this get him down, he gets a prosthetic hand and becomes a traveling sales man. But it’s really all down hill for… Source

Kingpin (1996) from YouTube