Synopsis
Pressured by a greedy uncle and a pile of debt, lovable loser Steve Barker 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.
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Cast
- Johnny KnoxvilleSteve Barker
- Brian CoxGary Barker
- Katherine HeiglLynn Sheridan
- Luis ÁvalosStavi
- Jed ReesGlen
- Leonard Earl HowzeMark
- Geoffrey ArendWinston
- Edward BarbanellBilly
- Bill ChottThomas
- Mike CerronePaulie
Recommendations
- 75
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie surprised me. It treats its disabled characters with affection and respect, it has a plot that uses the Special Olympics instead of misusing them, and it's actually kind of sweet. - 70
Dallas Observer
These guys are laugh-out-loud funny, not because they're being belittled, but because they're finally getting a chance to show a sense of humor onscreen. - 70
The A.V. Club
If anything, The Ringer doesn't go far enough to exploit its edgy premise, but it does have two conceits that consistently pay off: Knoxville turns out to be a lesser athlete than his competitors, and he's so bad at acting "retarded" that only the unchallenged buy into his ruse. - 50
L.A. Weekly
The movie strains so hard to have its heart in the right place that it never really exploits the guilty-pleasure fun of the premise. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
This wannabe daring comedy about a man who attempts to "fix" the Special Olympics strains for that patented naughty and nice balance with squirmingly squishy results. - 50
Variety
Sometimes veering close to being a promotional film for the Special Olympics, pic will be applauded by the disability community and its advocates but quickly ignored by longtime fans of the Farrellys and Knoxville. - 50
The New York Times
At the sweet heart of this silly film is a determination to upend the clichés and assumptions applied to the population we condescendingly label "special." - 42
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Not extreme enough to skate the edge of tasteless farce and not straight enough to play the material for edgy satire, The Ringer is a cheat right down to the final stretch. Breaking the rules should be more fun than this.
