Buffalo 66

1998 dramatic comedy

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Billy Brown, an exceptional bowler with a pair of fancy red shoes, makes an ill-advised bet on a Superbowl game and loses money he doesn't actually have. To pay off the debt, he pleads guilty to a crime he didn't commit and spends five years in the slammer. Upon his release, he decides to see his folks, and he kidnaps a young dance student to pose as his wife to take to their house. They're impressed! His real plans for the evening, however, involve murder-suicide as he plots to shoot the field goal kicker who ruined his life.

With only one exception, movies with bowling can't be bad. Another one-man show (Gallo stars, scores, and directs), at least partially autobiographical. Not sure which part that would be though. I was surprised at how emotionally connected I was despite really hating the protagonist for the first half of the movie. That protagonist turned out to be such a complex figure, however, and in the end was almost impossible not to like. I especially liked Christina Ricci in this (especially in a scene involving one of those novelty picture-taking booths), and I don't normally like her too much. To me, this had a Jarmusch feel, especially in the dialogue and in the unnatural ways that almost all of the characters (all but the doughnut guy) act, but that might just be because of similar budgets. Nearly teared up.

Note: 2nd best 1998 movie that Ben Gazzara acted in.

Here I am, reminiscing about the time when I nearly bowled a perfect game but ended up with a score of 136 instead: