Bowling’s notoriously boring to watch. Even World Bowling President Kevin Dornberger admits that the sport has an image problem.
“The days got long and we seemed to go without conclusion for a long time,” Dornberger tells CBC “As It Happens” radio host Carol Off. “Picture tennis; instead of games, sets and matches, but they suddenly decided to change the rules slightly and say we’re going to play until 200 points. The winner is the first tennis player to get 200 points. What you’re asking now is you’re asking your spectators, you’re asking your outside media to stay interested during a process that may last two-and-a-half, three-and-a-half hours.”
“In keeping with the tennis analogy, what if you, you know, people wore sexier clothing and maybe they grunted?” suggested Off.
Well, throw in a hot girl (Vanessa Angel), Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray and the Farrelly brothers, maybe you’ll have our interest.
That’s the premise of the Farrelly brothers’ 1996 cult comedy “Kingpin,” at least.
Harrelson plays 1970s bowling prodigy Roy Munson. After he wins a giant check for $1,500 at the 1979 Odor Eaters Bowling Invitational, beating reigning champ Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray), life starts throwing him gutterballs.
Seventeen years later, he’s an almost homeless balding drunk with a beer belly (his liquor of choice is Jim Beam). His luck turns when he meets Ishmael (Randy Quaid), an Amish kid who bowls a 270 average (that’s after 15 frames, but Roy doesn’t know that yet).
Invigorated to change his life, Roy propositions Ishmael to compete in a bowling tournament in Reno, Nev. The winner, of course, would take home $1 million, which would be split two ways. That’s enough for Roy to start over and for Ishmael to save his family’s Amish farm from foreclosure.
The Farrelly brothers’ comedy capitalizes on what made them a success. Like their 1994 picture, “Dumb and Dumber,” “Kingpin” features two idiots’ road trip adventures. Quaid plays the naive Amish kid while Harrelson’s character is a loser looking for redemption. Quaid even sports a “dumb and dumber” haircut, looking like a cross between Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey’s characters.
Fans of “The Big Lebowski” and “Dumb and Dumber” would enjoy this this film. Written by Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan, “Kingpin’s” comedy relies on physical humor and misinterpretations. Roy has several malapropisms, including “Alfred Einstein.”
Of course, the rules of this film aren’t hard to understand. “Kingpin’s” a straight-forward narrative that’s already pretty dumbed down — one of those film’s where you lose brain cells when watching. Which is perhaps what the International Olympics Committee is hoping to create with its new, shorter format. It’s just unfortunate that “dumbing” things down widens mass appeal.
“Kingpin” was directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter; and written by Mort Nathan and Barry Fanaro.
