The movie, Kingpin, contains some of the funniest lines in any movie and shows the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter, at their best.  The movie features an impressive cast, hysterical writing, an evocative soundtrack, and a few sincere flourishes which take it beyond the comedy moniker and surpass many other serious sports movies.  I enjoyed the plot so much that I think I’d still enjoy the movie if it were written as a sports drama.  Starring Woody Harrelson, from Cheers and Natural Born Killers, as Roy Munson, the movie takes us from Roy’s early days bowling in the backyard with his father, through his tour on the professional bowlers’ circuit, and ultimately to his downward spiral.  The scene which shows Roy as a young boy, running home to play with his father is both funny and sentimental as it plays out over Cat Stevens’ bittersweet Forever Young.

Shortly after setting out on the tour as the fresh faced, golden boy of bowling, Roy comes under the power of Ernie McCracken, played deliciously by Bill Murray, who manipulates Roy into joining him on a series of bowling alley hustles.  Things take a turn for the worse, when young Roy is uncovered as a hustler in a particularly seedy alley.  Abandoned by the unscrupulous McCracken, Roy becomes the victim of a vicious attack and is left without a hand or a future.  This is when the movie takes a sharp turn and shows us how poorly things have turned out for Roy Munson.

Without a hand, Roy has given up on bowling, but continues to be involved in the sport as a bowling alley supplies salesman.  It is at one such alley, that Roy hears the crack of the pins and discovers Ishmael Boorg, an Amish man with the innocence that Roy has long since lost.  After hearing of Ishmael’s average score and believing that with a little guidance, he could become a professional bowler, Roy hatches a plan to manage the young bowler and lead him on to victory.  Obviously, Ishmael’s na‹vet‚ and border-line idiocy doesn’t play a small part in Roy seeing the advantages of such an arrangement.

After posing as an out-of-town Amish man, Roy invites himself into Ishmael’s house and into his life.  It is here we discover that the fact that young Ishmael is played by a 46-year old Randy Quaid (a long time actor and brother to Dennis Quaid with notable roles as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon’s: Vacation series) hasn’t escaped everyone’s attention.  We’re never quite certain of Ishmael’s age, but it’s clear from his family that although Ishmael is old enough to be treated as a man, he lacks the common sense to warrant it.  His family would never approve of him going out on the bowling tour, but Ishmael is determined to prove himself and save the family’s farm from foreclosure, so he sneaks off with Roy and heads out on tour.

WARNING: SPOILER. If you have not seen this movie and are interested in it, do not read further.

Roy coaches Ishmael in the ways of bowling, trying to impart on him some of the guidance his father had given him.  However, after Ishmael loses his first match to a club bowler, Roy is disappointed to discover that the Amish man’s average score wasn’t what it seemed.  Having learned the game from a kind grandfather, Ishmael had been playing fifteen frames instead of the requisite ten, explaining to Roy, “Ten frames? That’s for Quakers.” The setback appears to be too much for Roy who immediately quits.  He is only persuaded to continue when it’s clear Ishmael will continue on without him and a glimmer of humanity and a rubber hand remind Roy of the dangers a young, na‹ve man can face on the bowling tour.

After agreeing to continue coaching and managing Ishmael, Roy makes it clear that Ishmael must do everything Roy’s way.  Roy turns out to be an excellent bowling coach and guides Ishmael toward becoming an exceptional bowler.  However, Roy isn’t as great as a life coach and Ishmael is quickly led into forsaking his upbringing and engaging in smoking, drinking coffee, alcohol, gambling, and even getting a tattoo.  Along the way they meet up with Claudia, played by the beautiful Vanessa Angel who had acted in the very short-lived TV series version of Weird Science, who is a hustler in her own right, but returns some of Roy’s dignity by adding some motherly love to the mix.

For me, the seminal moment in the movie is when Roy and Claudia chase after Ishmael who had run away again to escape the constant bickering and an actual fistfight between his two friends.  Roy and Claudia let go of their animosity and focus on finding and helping the vulnerable Ishmael before he gets into too much trouble.  When they find themselves in the area of Roy’s hometown, the two make a side trip to visit where Roy grew up.  It is here that the movie pulls at the heartstrings when Claudia tries to cheer up Roy by telling him that his father would be proud and Roy responds, probably correctly, that his father wouldn’t have been proud at what Roy had become.  Roy adds that he got word that his father had died a few years ago, but his shame kept him from attending the funeral.

More determined than ever, Roy finds Ishmael working as a cross-dressing stripper and rescues him from depravity.  The three wrap up their hustling and head to Reno, Nevada to the Odor Eaters(tm) Bowling Open.  After registering for the event it seems that nothing can stop Ishmael from becoming champion until they meet the present champion, Roy’s old nemesis, Ernie McCracken.  Big Ern, as he is lovingly called by fans is as despicable as ever, but it seems to go completely unnoticed by everyone else in the movie.  Bill Murray adds some hilarious lines to this character and even acts in a commercial for a Big Brothers-type charity where it appears that Big Ern’s only desire is to bed attractive, single mothers.

Incensed by McCracken’s derogatory insults toward Roy, Ishmael takes a swing at the bowling champ, misses, and breaks his hand.  After Claudia disappears with the money they had hustled, Roy is left with no other options: he must summon the courage to take to the alleys once again in order to save Ishmael’s farm.  The years haven’t been kind to Roy, he’s rusty, and he’s playing with a rubber hand, but he manages to win his matches and makes it to the championship game, against none other than Big Ern McCracken.  McCracken is the announcers’ clear favorite, but Roy is determined to unseat the champ and return a hero.  Just before the match is to begin, Ishmael’s brother shows up and summons the boy home.  With very little protest, and without even letting Roy know, Ishmael leaves with his brother and Roy is left all alone to face his demons.

The match is close between Big Ern and Roy, coming down to the last frames.  Roy is faced with a very difficult shot in order to pick up a spare which will put him ahead of the reigning champion.  Showing that he hadn’t lost all his skills, Roy picks up the spare and appears to be a shoe-in for the win.  However, Big Ern still has his last turn and proceeds to make three strikes in a row to beat challenger.  Despicable to the last minute, Big Ern makes some disparaging comments to the reporters, “Well, I didn’t want to lose to a guy with a hook,” then seizes Roy’s rubber hand and throws it to the crowd.

Roy’s disappointing finish is just another one of the reasons why I think this film sets itself apart from other sports films.  It’s great to see a champion win, but sometimes it’s more important just to see someone try.  Few movies are bold enough to show this, excepting maybe Rudy and Friday Night Lights.  Kindly, the film doesn’t leave us with Roy’s failure.  Instead, it shows Roy back at home, dumping out the bottles of alcohol in his cupboards, signifying that all was not lost and Roy has come out of it for the better.  Claudia also shows up at Roy’s house and explains that she didn’t walk out on him, but was forced out against her will by her violence-prone ex-.  She wants to start fresh with Roy and returns to share the money with Roy and Ishmael.  With a bit of good news himself, Roy explains that due to his bowling nickname of the Rubber Man, he’s been signed as the new spokesperson for a condom company and earned almost as much as if he had won the championship.  The two share the money with Ishmael, save the family farm, and the credits roll with a scene of everyone dancing while Blues Traveler’s But Anyway plays.

"Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter. Sermons and soda water the day after.”
Lord Byron