Kingpin (1996) - One bowling movie to rule them all

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A blond with nice legs and two fun male stars attract on this colorful poster for Bobby and Peter Farrelly's Kingpin

Roy Munson was expected to become his proud father's bowling comet successor, when his bowling teacher betrayed him, and he lost his bowling hand. Now, many years of hard drinking later, he wants to return to elite bowling; this time as a manager himself, for an Amish bowler prodigy.

 

Kingpin is written by Barry Fanaro (Men in Black II (2002)) and Mort Nathan (Bagboy (2007)) and directed by great Rhode-Islander filmmaker brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber (1994), both).

Bill Murray (Zombieland (2009)) delivers a bravura comic performance as the self-confident bowling opponent, and Woody Harrelson (LBJ (2016)) and Randy Quaid (Moving (1988)) are also unusually energetic in this really low-firing but also really funny movie. Lin Shaye (Texas Heart (2016)) has a fun supporting role as Munson's landlady. Vanessa Angel (Cougar Hunting (2011)) is also full of sparks.

Kingpin has a fun premise in big leagues bowling, and you'll just have to watch it to learn about getting 'Munsoned'. It is ten minutes overlong, but makes up for it with its many hilarious moments, some of which are so funny they threaten to rip you in half with laughter. The film also sports some ingenious costumes and hairdos.

 

Related posts:
 
Peter Farrelly: The day after the day after ... the 2019 Oscars

2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Green Book (2018) - P. Farrelly and a pair of great actors make racial drama thrive with comedic fuel 

Movie 43 (2013) or, The Big Flush  (segment)

Bobby and Peter Farrelly: Dumb and Dumber To (2014) or, Harry and Lloyd: Still Dumb and Lovin' It!  
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Hall Pass (2011) - The Farrelly brothers' probably worst film to date 
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  
The Heartbreak Kid (2007) or, The Seven Day Itch

Me, Myself & Irene (2000) - The Farrelly brothers falter 
Dumb and Dumber/Dumb & Dumber (1994) - The Farrellys brothers and Carrey/Daniels' comedy classic   

 

Watch a short TV trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 25 mil. $

Box office: 32.2 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.28 times its cost)

[Kingpin was released 4 July (Australia) and runs 114 minutes. Quaid was paid 2.25 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from October - December 1995 in Pennsylvania, Nevada and New York. The film opened #5, behind fellow new release A Time to Kill and holdover hits Independence Day, Phenomenon and Courage Under Fire, to a 5.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 25 mil. $ (77.6 % of the total gross). Peter Farrelly later said that the film's box office failure was the biggest disappointment of his and his brother's career, and blamed the Atlanta Olympics, but rejoiced in the strong performance of later video sales of the film. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. The Farrelly brothers returned with There's Something About Mary (1998). Harrelson returned in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996); Quaid in Get on the Bus (1996); and Angel in Veronica's Closet (1997, TV-series) and theatrically in Kissing a Fool (1998). Kingpin is rotten at 49 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Kingpin?

Hard Eight (1996) - Anderson debuts with downbeat crime drama

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 + Best Box Office Disaster of the Year + Best Crime Drama of the Year + Best Debut of the Year + Worst $ Return of the Year: 0.13 Times the Cost + Best Independent Movie of the Year + Best Nevada Movie of the Year + Most Undeserved Flop of the Year

 

The iconic dark green of the dice table makes up the background on this simple poster for Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight

Sydney is an oldtimer and a veteran gambler, who knows some shortcuts in the business. He now takes the younger John under his wings, who finds himself in trouble, and later also the waitress and prostitute Clementine ...

 

Hard Eight is written and directed by debuting Californian master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch Drunk Love (2002)).

Anderson establishes an oppressive mood across this well-acted, downbeat, short-story-like tale, which also benefits from strong photography (by Robert Elswit (Syriana (2005))) and music (score by Jon Brion (Step Brothers (2008)) and Michael Penn (Boogie Nights (1997))).

We accept and embrace spending the running time here with these hard-pressed, desperate (loser) characters, mainly because Philip Baker Hall (The Zodiac (2005)), John C. Reilly (Rubberhead (2014, TV movie)), Gwyneth Palthrow (The Good Night (2007)), Samuel L. Jackson (The Incredibles (2004)) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Culture (1997, short)) are so absolutely excellent in their character portrayals.

 

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Phantom Thread (2017) - Anderson's exquisite drama of an English dressmaker and his Alma 

The Master (2012) - Anderson's stunning post-war reflection 
Boogie Nights (1997) - Anderson's irresistible porn 'Casino'

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

 

Here is a 3-minute clip from the film

 

Cost: 3 mil. $

Box office: 222k $ (North America only)

= Box office disaster (returned 0.07 times its cost in North America; projected total return of 0.13 times the cost)

[Hard Eight premiered 20 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 102 minutes. It is based on Anderson's own short film Cigarettes & Coffee (1993). Shooting took place in 1995 in Nevada. The film opened #27 to a 69k $ first weekend in 29 theaters in North America, where it grossed 222k $. It was also released in a handful of other markets, but grosses are regrettably not reported. If the film made a final gross of 400k $ it, would still rank as a box office disaster. It was nominated for 5 Independent Spirit awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Anderson returned with Michael Penn: Try (1997, music video) and theatrically with Boogie Nights (1997). Hall returned in The Little Death (1996); Reilly in Boys (1996); and Palthrow in The Pallbearer (1996). Hard Eight is certified fresh at 81 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hard Eight? 

Escape from L.A./John Carpenter's Escape from L.A./Escape from Los Angeles (1996) or, Snake Plissken in Crazy-World!

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+ Costliest Flop of the Year: 31.12 mil. $ range

Kurt Russell looks cool in the intense colors on this poster for John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.

Snake Plissken is back, this time in the year 2013, in which he avoids deportation by getting imposed an assignment by the mad president of the United States to capture his daughter and a weapon on the prison island that is Los Angeles.

Escape from L.A. is a colorful an very wacky sequel to New Yorker master co-writer-director John Carpenter's (Halloween (1978)) own great Escape from New York (1981). It features some early CGI, which looks curious today, and an exaggerated plot that doesn't reach the heights of the first film or another comparable 1990s sci-fi-action great like Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall (1990).
But Escape from L.A. does have its own kind of charm and a cast that contains several smaller scoops, including a scene where Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice (2007-13)) plays a crazy plastic surgeon, which is a favorite, and Pam Grier (Linc's (1998-2000)) playing a male-to-female transgender, (hadn't seen that coming.)
Escape from L.A. is co-written with Debra Hill (The Fog (1980)) and returning star Kurt Russell (Dark Blue (2002), actor). It is a noisy and nonsensical piece of super-kitsch. SPOILER Especially the film's ending is odd, as Plissken "bombs the world 500 years back" by turning off the power with a satellite.

Related posts:

John Carpenter: Cigarette Burns (2005, TV movie) - Carpenter burns out in weird, tiresome TV movie 

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Christine (1983) or, Bad Plymouth!
Escape from New York (1981) - Carpenter introduces Kurt Russell as action star in dystopic dream
Top 10: The best action movies and TV-series reviewed by Film Excess to date
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) - Solid action guerilla film-making

Watch an ad for the film from a VHS tape here - featuring creative marketing that changes the film's huge flop status by referring to it as a "25 mil. $ box office smash", - some 20 years after movies broke the 100 mil. $ mark at the domestic box office ...

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 47.2 mil. $
= Huge flop
[Escape from L.A. was released 9 August (North America) and runs 101 minutes.  The film was in development for almost a decade but was sped up by the 1992 LA riots, the 1994 LA earthquake as well as Russell's wish to play Plissken again. The budget was more than 8 times that of the original film. Shooting took place in California, including at Universal Studios, Texas and Miami, Florida from December 1995 - March 1996. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Jack and hold-over hit A Time to Kill, to an 8.9 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell out of the top 5 in its second week, only played 4 weeks and grossed just 25.4 mil. $ (53.8 mil. % of the total gross.) Roger Ebert gave the film 3½/4 stars, equal to two notches better than this review. Escape from L.A. is rotten at 53 % with a 5.6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Escape from L.A.?