It's been said that there is nothing funnier than that magical place where
bowling, amputees, Amish people, and titties converge.
No, wait, it hasn't. But it should be said, because those four things
form the basis of the 1999 Farrelly Brothers movie Kingpin.
Your major cast is as follows:
So here's the plot summary: Roy Munson is a young and aspiring bowling ace
whose road to fame is derailed by the jovially evil Ernie McKracken.
Munson needs money, and McKracken takes him to a bowling alley to bowl for
money, but when Munson wins, they shove his hand into a ball return, where it's
ripped off.
Flash forward many years later. Munson is stuck in a run-down apartment
with a hook for a hand, reduced to performing cunnilingus on his repulsive
landlord and selling bowling supplies for money, when he sees Ishmael, a
natural bowling ace. The catch is that Ishmael is Amish and doesn't want
to learn the immorality of the outside world. Ishmael is convinced to go
with Roy to a big tournament when he learns that their farm is almost
penniless and the bank is very close to foreclosure.
So they hit the road, gambling on Ishmael's natural bowling skills to make
money. Eventually they find themselves in the home of a rich bowling
gambler, bowling on his private lane. Claudia, his girlfriend,
attempts to distract Ishmael, but fails. When the gambler begins to beat
on Claudia, she, Roy and Ishmael flee. Roy and Claudia clash over "posession"
of Ishmael--both seeing him as their meal ticket.
Eventually, Roy and Claudia reach an understanding, and when Ishmael breaks
his hand at the tournament, Roy is forced to bowl with a rubber hand fitted over
his hook-hand, only managing to take second place after his old nemesis,
McCracken.
The end of the movie sees Munson making some money from a lucrative
endorsement deal and donating his second-place winnings to save Ishmael's
farm. Oh, and keep your eyes open for the Amish-disguised members of Blues
Traveler at the very end of the movie.
I personally thought it was a funny movie, with plenty of physically
repulsive moments such as a bucket of bull ejaculate being drunk from, a wraithlike
woman demanding cunnilingus, and Quaid's stiff nipple-erections. It's
definitely more lowbrow than The Big Lebowski, but the comparisons are
inevitable--there are very few bowling movies, obviously enough.
The DVD is two-sided, one side in widescreen, the other side in
standard. It features 8 added scenes not included in the PG-13 theatrical
release, pushing the DVD to an R rating. It's got the trailer and
commentary from the Farrelly Brothers, and both English and French-language
subtitles, but only an English audio track.
I recommend it highly, but only if you're into lowbrow humor. Once
again:
Addendum: it has been brought to my attention by rootbeer277 that Morganna The Kissing Bandit makes an apperance near the end during the tournament, playing herself.