Kingpin

Smart Gross-out

I expected Kingpin to be a lot on the raunchy side. Considering the works of directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, the guys behind There's Something About Mary and Dumb & Dumber, I thought I was going to need a shower afterward because the humor was going to be so filthy. Can I tell you how happy I am that it wasn't the case? I was really surprised by Kingpin. The few bodily-function jokes were actually funny, and they were rather far between. While we're on the subject of offensive humor, I'd like to mention that the movie isn't nearly as rude to the Amish as you might guess. The movie is much happier to make Roy, the Woody Harrelson character look like an idiot. After the shot of the grandmother with facial hair, the fun is mostly at Roy's expense, even if the scene is set in farm country.

Mr. Bill

Can I just say that Bill Murray is fantastic? Has anyone ever played a better slimeball on screen? His character oozes insincerity out of every pore, and it's a highlight of the movie. Give Murray a character like "Big Ernie" McCracken and he sinks his teeth in big time. When "Big Ern" is pulling a con, Murray does it walking the fine line between convincing enough to win people over and stilted enough to let the audience sense the script he's playing. This is quality acting.