The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
Kingpin
Comedy · 1996
After bowler Roy Munson swindles the wrong crowd and is left with a hook for a hand, he settles into impoverished obscurity. That is, until he uncovers the next big thing: an Amish kid named Ishmael. So, the corrupt and the hopelessly naive hit the circuit intent on settling an old score with Big Ern.
Movie details
Kingpin
“You wouldn't want to meet these pinheads in an alley.”
1996 Comedy 1h 54m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.9 / 10
95.2K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
51 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
43 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
After bowler Roy Munson swindles the wrong crowd and is left with a hook for a hand, he settles into impoverished obscurity. That is, until he uncovers the next big thing: an Amish kid named Ishmael. So, the corrupt and the hopelessly naive hit the circuit intent on settling an old score with Big Ern.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Kingpin?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Bobby Farrelly · Peter Farrelly
Written by
Mort Nathan · Barry Fanaro
Woody Harrelson
Roy Munson
Randy Quaid
Ishmael Boorg
Vanessa Angel
Claudia
Bill Murray
Ernie McCracken
Chris Elliott
The Gambler
William Jordan
Mr. Boorg
Nancy Frey-Jarecki
Sarah Boorg
Court is in session
Put Kingpin on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.