Kingpin

Roy Munson, played by Woody Harrelson, has one hand. The custom prosthetic made for it caused real problems on long shoots in humid bowling alleys, with the crew repeatedly intervening between takes to manage sweat and reseat it. Bill Murray's Ernie McCracken is largely invented. Murray read the script, took the general idea, and made up most of his lines on set. He also genuinely bowled some of the shots seen in the film. The story: a washed-up alcoholic former professional bowler decides to manage a gifted young player who has left the Amish community. Randy Quaid plays the young man. The Farrelly brothers directed. It opened on 26 July 1996 through MGM/UA and took $32.2m worldwide against a twenty-five-million-dollar budget, which is roughly break-even. Who it is for: viewers who like coarse, unembarrassed 1990s American comedy and Murray at his most reckless. Who it is not for: anyone wanting subtle humour. The jokes are built on physical comedy, and parts of it have aged badly.