Kingpin

1996 bowling comedy

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A former prospective bowling superstar whose career was cut short--or more accurately, mangled short--after a hustle-gone-wrong gets a chance at redemption after he meets an Amish bowling phenom.

Penalties incurred for both an unfortunate cameo by the ever-annoying Chris Berman and Blues Traveler. Not even a Jonathan Richman appearance and the great Chris Eliott ("Look at George and Wheezy go!") can make one forget Berman and that damn harmonica-happy fat man. This might be the second best bowling comedy with a few good individual lines (liked "Nasty cheese-grating accident" with that nodding bearded woman and "You're on a gravy train with biscuit wheels" would be something I'd add to my own repertoire if I had a better memory) and some fun characters but with a deluge of potty humor and kick-in-the-groin jokes that don't really work, too much meandering, and too many montages. That ridiculous rubber hand is a nice prop which is utilized just the right amount for a comedy like this. And by that, I mean it's used way too much. Woody Harrelson's funny enough, more as the straight man, and although the character is arguably in poor taste--the right kind of taste for a movie like this--Quaid's also good. Bill Murray's appearances which bookend the off-kilter buddy movie outshine the stars though. He's such a nonchalantly terrible character and plays sleazy perfectly here. Early scenes in a restaurant where Murray's character just says hi to somebody or throws a rude request at the waitress let you know all you need to know about Ernie right away. And his hair and his bowling style are hilarious. Lin Shaye's good as the disgusting landlady, but it's almost too good because the thought of the character makes me sick to my stomach. This is an uneven comedy with a too-predictable storyline, but there are enough laughs to make it worth the time. I'm giving a bonus point for the "Attaboy, Luther!" which was a clever little movie allusion and reminded me of Don Knotts.

Get Low

2009 living wake movie

Rating: 13/20

Plot: An old hermit, tortured by his past and the source of a few urban legends, decides to hold a living wake

I'm one away from completing a "living wake" trifecta after this and The Living Wake. That's the superior "living wake" movie despite the presence of an Eisenberg because it was frequently funny. This one isn't supposed to be funny (at least I hope not), but it isn't really anything else either. I just never felt this movie. Bill Murray was fairly distracting with his usual low-key thang. Duvall isn't an actor I usually like very much anyway. Watching him chop wood in this movie does cement his status as a national treasure, however. But geez Louise! After the first ten minutes of this thing, I was worried that he would spend the entire movie grunting and groaning, but eventually, he started using things that sounded like real words, partially-articulate words of grouchy grumbled wisdom, most punctuated with this too-loud guitar diddling. And he says "umm" and makes some slurping noises. He looks the part of the grimy recluse, but he's really just a Hollywood hermit. Of course, if you're going to have a real grizzled old guy movie, it ain't going to be complete without Bill Cobbs as the obligatory old black guy. I'm going to have to check his filmography to see how many times he's played a character named Obligatory Old Black Guy. And I believe there was even a Wilford Brimley spotting in this. No, I don't have anything against old guys. There just wasn't enough of a payoff in this movie. I had to sit through a whole lot to get to this movie's punchline, and it just kind of left me scratching my head. There was room at the end for a little magic, but the movie's resolution was really botched.

Blog trivia: This is the first time I've mentioned Wilford Brimley on this blog.

The Limits of Control

2009 movie

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A guy who does not speak Spanish globetrots on a mysterious mission, exchanging matchboxes with strangers, lugging around guitars for a few days, and drinking espresso.

It's my blog, and if I want to give a movie a Benefit-of-the-Doubt bonus point, I will. Because really, I didn't understand what this movie was about. It was frustrating, like when I sat around and contemplated the sound of one hand clapping and never really figured out what the hell that was all about either. I don't know who's controlling or limiting who in this movie. Jarmusch plays around with language barriers again, this time with a recurring gag where the protagonist is asked if she speaks Spanish. There's all these random characters who pop in, and one of them is very naked, and after a while, this does have the feel of a reflective batch of non-sequiturs or a quiet explosion of Zen mantras. Two espressos, not a double. Is that just funny or does it mean something? A guy prattles on about the memory of instruments, Tilda Swinton pops in to reminisce about film and the "old stuff," a guy says that we're all just a set of shifting molecules, two characters mention that the universe has no center and no edges, and there's discussion of Bohemians and hallucinations. The guy changes shiny suits a few times, travels from here to there, and runs into Bill Murray. There's a cool shift in settings, from the artsy modern imagery and weird architecture of the early scenes to a more run-down dilapidated and dusty setting by the end. I'm sure that means something, but I'm clueless. Bill Murray is called The American in this. Is he a symbol? Why's there a skull on his desk? I could meditate on this film or think about whether my belly button actually exists. This crawls by at a snail's pace, so if you've got the brain for what Jarmusch is trying to do, you definitely have enough space for your mind to crawl around in. There's a coolness to the proceedings, and Isaach De Bankole very nearly creates an iconic hero, but this is one that is very difficult to sink teeth into. I suspect my rating is either way too high or a little too low. What do I know anyway? I'm just a set of shifting molecules. I might see this movie again to figure it out in ten or so years.

Larry anti-recommended this movie, but I watched it anyway.