Product Information
Peter and Bobby Farrelly have always expressed an especially warm but unsentimental attitude in their films toward those with disabilities, most notably in THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and SHALLOW HAL. THE RINGER, which they produced (but neither wrote nor directed), takes this trait to feverish new heights. JACKASS-cum-leading man stars Johnny Knoxville as office schmo Steve Barker, whose request for more responsibility at his job indirectly results in the severing of four fingers from the hand of Stavi, the mild-mannered office janitor. When Steve requests financial help from his morally-questionable gambling addict Uncle Gary (Brian Cox), Stevie finds himself posing as Jeffy an athlete in the Special Olympics whose victory against track champion Jimmy (Leonard Flowers) could spell an end to Uncle Gary's debts and the reattaching of Stavi's fingers. Though a basic description of its premise would make most viewers cry foul, THE RINGER skirts the obvious charge of exploitation by making the mentally challenged characters the only ones to realise that Steve is only acting handicapped. Steve's fellow Olympians are cast with a combination of veteran character actors and real-life former Special Olympians (most notably Edward Barbanell, John Taylor, and Leonard Flowers) who, while lending the film authenticity, also spark with comic timing and the true joy of being on camera. Knoxville once again makes an affable hero, and Ricky Blitt's screenplay, while crass by nature, keeps true vulgarity at bay in favour of a good nature that makes simplicity an asset.Product Identifiers
ProducerBradley Thomas, John L. Jacobs
EAN5039036027366
eBay Product ID (ePID)53298427
Product Key Features
ActorNicole E. Bradley, Edward Barbanell, Mohammad Ahmed, Kelly Cook, Camille Chen, Johnny Knoxville, Geoffrey Arend, Alcides Dias, Johnny Bartee, Bill Chott, Brian Cox
Film/TV TitleThe Ringer
DirectorBarry W. Blaustein
LanguageEnglish
Release Year2006
FeaturesCommentary\Sixteen Deleted Scenes\Four Featurettes\Inside Look the Sentinel
Additional Product Features
Number of Discs1
Certificate12A/12
Country/Region of ManufactureUnited States of America
ReviewsEntertainment Weekly - A film that does for the mentally challenged what REVENGE OF THE NERDS did for the pocket-protector set, finding a hidden coolness in their ability to be themselves, Los Angeles Times - Though the movie bears some of the Farrellys' trademark outrageous humor, it has a sweet demeanor and makes a noble statement, Sight And Sound - There is a sweet and rather sentimental story arc