by 20th Century Fox
| Average Rating: |
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| Sales Rank: | 4573 (lower is better) |
| Price Used: | $0.17 |
| Shipping: | Free Shipping on most orders over $25* |
| Availability: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| Director: | Barry W. Blaustein |
| Release Date: | 2006-05-16 |
| Label: | 20th Century Fox |
| UPC: | 024543235231 |
| Binding: | DVD |
| Published By: | 20th Century Fox |
| ASIN: | B000EGDBZ6 |
| Category: | DVD |
Actors and Actresses
Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions
Description
Pressured by a greedy uncle (Brian Cox) and a pile of debt, lovable loser Steve Barker (Knoxville) resorts to an unthinkable, contemptible, just-crazy-enough-to-work scheme. He pretends to be mentally challenged to rig the upcoming Special Olympics and bring home the gold. But when Steve's fellow competitors get wise to the con, they inspire him to rise to the greatest challenge of all: becoming a better person.
Produced by the fearless Farrelly Brothers (There's Something About Mary, Shallow Hal), The Ringer will keep you smiling all the way to the finish line!
Amazon.com
Johnny Knoxville (Jackass, A Dirty Shame) stars as a man who pretends to be mentally challenged so he can fix the Special Olympics. This morally dubious premise (the movie goes to great lengths to be sure you understand how appalling it is) is not as inflammatory as it could be--The Ringer is careful not to mock its mentally challenged characters. This is sometimes a source of strength, as some of the funniest jokes come from the perspective of the athletes--for example, a group of the other athletes recognize that Steve (Knoxville) is not the high-functioning mentally disabled guy he pretends to be, but they go along with the masquerade and even help Steve because they can't stand the snotty reigning champion. But this respectfulness also makes the movie feel cautious and inhibited (one imagines there's a wealth of un-PC jokes that got cut out of the script so it could pass muster with the Special Olympics, who gave the movie its blessing). As a result, the movie's real plot turns out to be a love story, as Steve falls for one of the Special Olympics volunteers (Katherine Heigl, Romy and Michelle: In the Beginning) and has to find sneaky ways to undermine her slimy boyfriend. All in all, an uneven comedy with occasional flashes of wicked wit. Also featuring the always welcome Brian Cox (Adaptation, X-Men 2). --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews
When the F**K did we get ice cream?! - Reviewed on 2008-05-23
If you know who Johnny Knoxville is, and enjoy his brand of comedy, then this movie is right up your alley. If not, then there is a decent chance you won't like it.
Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) is a good guy who has just been promoted. Unfortunately, part of his promotion is the responsibility of firing a really nice janitor named Stavi who loves to be elbow-deep in a toilet just a bit too much. Steven doesn't have the stomach for it, so he offers Stavi a job as a gardener at his apartment complex, with full benefits. Uh-oh, it's only a matter of time before Stavi decides to get elbow-deep into the bottom of an operating lawnmower, and Steve is forced to find a solution.
Enter Steve's low-life uncle Gary (Brian Cox), a gambling degenerate unable to pay his debts. Uncle Gary gets the brilliant idea to fix the Special Olympics. It's a sure-fire win, despite what the movie attempts to portray, especially if Steve pretends to be a retarded kid named Jeffy (I can count to potato!). This is where the first bit of comedy comes into play. Steve experiments with several looks, speech problems, and oddball details as he refines the Jeffy persona.
I know it's not right to laugh at retarded people, but I wouldn't be honest if I said it hasn't happened. And nearly everyone who has seen this movie has done the same to some degree. Thankfully enough, half of the comedy in this movie is not of the "laughing at" variety, but instead, the "laughing with" variety. Although, it must be noted that only a few of the actors were actually mentally handicapped.
The biggest problem with this movie is that it attempts to teach a lesson of equality, justice, and opportunity while doing the exact opposite. It's an attempt to show that competitors in the Special Olympics are just as talented as able-bodied people while making fun of them. Forgive me for being non-PC, but the preaching is a load of crap. If this movie took place in real life, Steve would have swept the entire Olympics as Jeffy, smoking Jimmy - the alleged "Deion Sanders of retards" - in every single race. Aside from that, the contrived love story angle of the movie was unnecessary and felt forced - it was probably simply a reason to cast a hot blonde into a role (Katherine Heigl).
So, which is it? Should I feel bad about laughing, even though scenes were put in the movie for that explicit purpose? Or should I take heed to the final message of acceptance? I think I'll go with the former and laugh; after all, if the disabled actors don't have a problem with the movie, consistently showing their self-deprecating senses of humor, then why should I?
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Book Subjects
- Adult Humor
- Adult Language
- Adult Situations
- Assumed Identities
- Color
- Comedies
- Comedy
- Comedy Video
- Cons and Scams
- Drug Content
- English
- Feature
- Feature Film-comedy
- Humorous
- Movie
- Not For Children
- Profanity
- Quirky
- Rowdy
- Sentimental