Bingo is a game that’s always been important in American entertainment culture. There are dozens of bingo halls right here in Massachusetts, which is also true for our neighboring states. As the pandemic led to the closure or limited operation of physical bingo halls, the world looked online for ways to keep playing.
Alongside the entire global online gaming industry, the online bingo market is expected to grow rapidly until 2026, with key players such as web-based casinos NetEnt, GVC, and 888 leading the charge. Meanwhile, dedicated bingo sites are introducing new ways to play the game across the world. Licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, European online games provider Gala Bingo not only has classic 75 and 90-ball bingo games, but also Penny Bingo, Speed Bingo, and Chakra Bingo – each of which has its own custom mechanics and themes. With rapid digitization shaping the future of the game, it’s undeniable that bingo continues to thrive in the virtual era. In turn, this has made it a recurring theme for certain filmmakers.
In fact, while there’s yet to be a compelling feature film that’s entirely about bingo, there’s no shortage of mainstream movie scenes in which the game takes center stage. Without further ado, here are the 5 best movie scenes that reveal bingo’s continuing relevance to contemporary entertainment.
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Amusing details abound in this entertaining albeit macabre bingo hall of horrors. Instead of numbered balls, tiny skulls go around the cage. Upon getting picked, the lucky skull whispers a letter and number to the caller, a giant bat who looks and sounds like a typical elderly female bingo hall player. Across the room, the players are all either archetypes of bingo hall frequenters, familiar horror monsters, or combinations of both. As strange as it is endearing, don’t miss this animated ode to the classic pastime.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
No one actually played bingo in this scene. But it makes the list because it’s a vivid glimpse at how deeply ingrained the game is in American culture. In the film Inglorious Basterds, Nazi officer Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) is betraying the Nazis in exchange for his own freedom. While negotiating with Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), Landa cunningly predicts the American intelligence office that commands Raine’s unit, leaving the usually brazen man speechless. Satisfied with his himself, Landa exclaims, “Oooh, that's a bingo! Is that the way you say it? ‘That's a bingo?" To which Raine replies, “You just say “bingo.” It’s arguably the most hilarious exchange in the dark comedy.
Rampage (2009)
A well-armed man in head-to-toe ballistic armor walks into a bingo hall hoping to intimidate some people. However, the players in this particular bingo hall hardly notice his presence, completely oblivious to his threats and his big, big gun. Hoping for aggression but confronted instead with Zen-like focus on the game, he fails to draw any significant reaction from the players. The man takes his big gun and walks out of the bingo hall frustrated.
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sdF1Gqaak8
Definitely not for the faint of heart, this movie has been criticized for being crass in the worse sense of the word. Bad Grandpa (Johnny Knoxville) walks into a bingo hall and sits down at a table. While playing the game, Grandpa not only chats up the surrounding elderly men and women but also throws a couple lewd lines out there while he’s at it. Bad Grandpa certainly isn’t perfect, but Knoxville does manage to entertain some players and make them laugh. It’s a rare combination of bingo and shock comedy that actually works.
The Babadook (2014)
Arguably one of the most underrated horror scenes ever, bingo is used in an unusual way in psychological arthouse thriller The Babadook. In this scene, caregiver and troubled widow Amelia Vaneck (Essie Davis) starts a bingo game in a care home in an attempt to liven up the atmosphere. The attempt fails miserably and ends up becoming a chilling look into the lives of the characters in the film, smoothly laying the foundation for the horrors to come.
From thrillers and action films to comedic and animated features, bingo can be found in virtually every film genre. This isn’t just a testament to the game’s longevity. It also reveals how even the most unexpected concepts can result in some of the most compelling moments on film.
CREDIT: Mirko Tobias Schäfer under CC BY 2.0 License – No changes were made to the image.