Kingpin (1996)

He just got Munsoned. This week we're lacing up our rental shoes and rolling into Kingpin (1996) — the Farrelly Brothers' dark, mean, outrageously funny sophomore film that bombed spectacularly at the box office upon release, got overlooked in the shadow of Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary, and has spent the three decades since quietly building a cult following among people who understand that this might be the best thing the Farrellys ever made. And it has Bill Murray at his most unhinged and magnificent. Come on. That alone is enough.Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly, the film follows Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) — the 1979 Iowa State Amateur Bowling Champion whose career is destroyed when his supposed partner Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray) abandons him mid-hustle, leaving Roy to face the consequences and lose his bowling hand in the ball return. Seventeen years later, a broken, alcoholic Roy discovers Ishmael (Randy Quaid) — an Amish bowling prodigy hiding a supernatural talent — and hatches a plan to hustle their way across the country to a major tournament in Reno. Vanessa Angel rounds out the road trip trio, with McCracken lurking as the film's perfectly oiled villain waiting at the finish line.We're going deep on everything: why this film bombed — it opened the same weekend as the 1996 Olympics and nobody went to the movies — and how it was almost instantly forgotten until cable television slowly turned it into a cult classic over the following years, the extraordinary Bill Murray performance which many Farrelly fans quietly consider a top-five Bill Murray career moment, the film's surprisingly dark and genuinely melancholy heart underneath all the gross-out gags, and the alternate casting history — Jim Carrey was the original first choice for Ernie McCracken, while Michael Keaton and Chris Farley were considered for the roles that went to Harrelson and Quaid. We're also talking about why Kingpin is essentially The Hustler or The Color of Money set in the deliberately ridiculous world of professional bowling — and why that premise is not a joke but the entire genius of the film.We're asking the big questions too: is Kingpin the best Farrelly Brothers film? Is Big Ern McCracken Bill Murray's greatest comedic villain performance? And why does this film — crude, mean, and consistently hilarious — also hit you unexpectedly hard in the final act?Whether you're a Farrelly Brothers devotee, a Bill Murray enthusiast, a Woody Harrelson fan, a Randy Quaid admirer, a lover of 90s comedies that went underappreciated on release, someone who has ever been Munsoned, or just a person who believes bowling is an inherently comedic sport — this episode is essential.Topics covered: Kingpin 1996 | Farrelly Brothers | Woody Harrelson | Bill Murray | Randy Quaid | Vanessa Angel | Ernie McCracken | Roy Munson | Ishmael | best 90s comedies | most underrated 90s films | bowling movies | Dumb and Dumber comparison | There's Something About Mary comparison | best Bill Murray performances | Bill Murray villain | Jim Carrey almost played McCracken | Chris Farley almost in Kingpin | best road trip comedies | dark comedies | Farrelly Brothers filmography ranked | best sports comedies | The Hustler comparison | cult classic comedies | box office bomb cult following | 90s nostalgia | getting Munsoned | movie review podcast | film analysis | best rubber hand jokes | Blues Traveler cameo | most underrated Bill Murray roles | Amish comedy filmsSubscribe, rate, and leave us a review — and settle it once and for all: is Kingpin the greatest Farrelly Brothers film? And is Big Ern McCracken Bill Murray's best comedic villain role — or is that even a competition?YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RegularorMentholContact us: [email protected]