 |
| Director
: |
Barry W.
Blaustein
|
| Starring
: |
Johnny Knoxville, Katherine
Heigl, Brian Cox |
|
| The plot of
The Ringer |
To help settle his friend's debt, Steve Barker
(Knoxville) schemes to fix the Special Olympics
by entering as a contestant. |
The Ringer
Review
|
Review by Tim
Knight:
Fresh from inflicting
both The Dukes Of Hazzard and Daltry Calhoun on audiences,
Johnny Knoxville makes amends with The Ringer, an unexpectedly
endearing comedy. Given its premise—a down-on-his-luck
slob pretends to be "intellectually challenged"
in order to compete in the Special Olympics—the
movie could have easily set a new low for tasteless,
gross-out humor. Thankfully, The Nutty Professor screenwriter-turned-director
Barry Blaustein and screenwriter Ricky Blitt (Family
Guy) refrain from exploiting the handicapped participants
for cheap, mean-spirited laughs. They instead surround
the former Jackass star with idiosyncratic and funny
characters who just happen to be intellectually disabled.
The happy result is a likable and frequently laugh-out-loud
comedy endorsed by Tim Shriver, Chairman of the Special
Olympics, who executive-produced The Ringer with the
Farrelly brothers. Knoxville portrays tender-hearted
corporate drone Steve Barker, whose attempt to help
the company's recently axed janitor Stavi (Luis Avalos)
backfires in a freak lawnmower accident. Although Stavi
survives, he'll lose several fingers if Steve doesn't
find a way to pay for the uninsured janitor's exorbitant
medical bills. The problem is, Steve himself is barely
making ends meet. In desperation, he turns to his sleazy,
gambling addict uncle, Gary (Brian Cox). Always on the
lookout to make a fast buck, Uncle Gary comes up with
an ingenious and utterly amoral scheme to solve both
their money woes. He'll wager a hefty bet that Steve
will defeat defending Special Olympics pentathlete Jimmy
(Leonard Flowers)..more..
Review By Peter
Hartlaub:
The Ringer: Comedy.
Starring Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl, Leonard
Flowers and Brian Cox. Directed by Barry W. Blaustein.
(PG-13. 94 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)Judging solely
by the premise, there is more than enough negative energy
flowing through the new comedy "The Ringer"
to screw up everyone's karma this holiday season. This
is a comedy produced by the guys who made "Dumb
and Dumber" and stars "Jackass" ringmaster
Johnny Knoxville -- a man known for covering himself
head to toe in meat and jumping on a grill to demonstrate
the "human barbecue." The plot has Knoxville
faking being mentally disabled, so he can fix the Special
Olympics.But the movie's shockingly tasteless setup
is also its secret weapon. Despite many scenes in "The
Ringer" that could individually be viewed as politically
incorrect, audiences will be laughing with the athletes
most of the time. And even though there are a few jokes
at the expense of the intellectually challenged, the
movie is much tougher on anyone who makes fun of the
competitors..More..
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