Once a mainstay of community centres and retirement villages, bingo is on the rise among young men and women. Given bingo’s rising popularity among younger generations, it’s no great surprise that many online gaming sites now offer bingo games based on film and TV. For those that are unfamiliar with the game of bingo, you can explore the various games and options at the home of UK bingo.
Bingo is increasingly making appearances in film, including the five great bingo film scenes listed below.
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Computer-animated comedy Hotel Transylvania features a spooky bingo scene in which the balls are actually skulls. “N-27”, says the caller, and one of the monsters shouts out “bingo”. But just as the monster says the magic word, a gremlin sitting next to her eats her paper. This causes the monster to turn to the gremlin and exclaim, “How dare you! Do you know what doctor made me?” The scene ends with the gremlin’s response of “I didn’t do it.” This hilarious scene certainly raised the profile of bingo among younger generations.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
This classic Tarantino film about a group of Nazi hunters doesn’t show bingo, but it does feature a hilarious discussion about the word “bingo”. Towards the end of the film, Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) and American Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) negotiate Landa’s surrender. Landa was Waltz’s breakthrough cinematic role, due partly to his colourful use of phrases like “Oooh, that’s a bingo”. “Is that the way you say it? That’s a bingo?” Landa asks Raine. “You just say bingo”, replies Pitt. “Bingo! How fun,” exclaims Landa in a high-pitched voice.
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013)
Bad Grandpa represented a departure from the previous Jackass films in that it had a storyline rather than just being a compilation of stunts. Johnny Knoxville stars as badly-behaved grandpa Irving Zisman. In one scene, Irving enters a bingo hall. As you’d expect of a Jackass film, Irving behaves as inappropriately as possible, causing the other bingo players to react with horror. This is a great film to watch for bingo fans and fans of the Jackass film series.
Rampage (2009)
Who could forget the bingo scene in this cult action film about a small-town man who goes on a killing spree? The film follows Bill Williamson, a 23-year-old who lives with his parents. One day Bill snaps and – armed with two submachine guns, two semiautomatics, and two knives – heads into town to kill people. In one scene, Bill slips into a bingo hall, buys a sandwich, harasses the person behind the counter, and leaves. Fortunately, Bill doesn’t kill any of the bingo players. In fact, the players are so engrossed in their bingo game that they don’t even notice Bill walk in with all that weaponry!
Better Call Saul (2015)
True, Better Call Saul is TV, not film. However, it’s hard to ignore the bingo scene in this popular TV series and prequel to the equally popular Breaking Bad. In this scene, Saul finds himself calling out the numbers at a bingo game for potential clients. At some stage, he snaps and starts ranting about his life. Without wanting to spoil too much of the series, this scene signals something of a turning point in Saul’s life – paving the way for him to become one of TV’s most popular characters.