The Ringer (2005)

A young guy's only option to erase a really bad debt is to rig the Special Olympics by posing as a contestant.

Director:

Barry W. Blaustein

Writer:

Ricky Blitt

Stars:

Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl, Brian Cox

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Knoxville	...	Steve Barker
Brian Cox	...	Gary Barker
Katherine Heigl	...	Lynn Sheridan
Jed Rees	...	Glen
Bill Chott	...	Thomas
Edward Barbanell	...	Billy
Leonard Earl Howze	...	Mark
Geoffrey Arend	...	Winston
John Taylor	...	Rudy
Luis Avalos	...	Stavi
Leonard Flowers	...	Jimmy
Zen Gesner	...	David Patrick
Steve Levy	...	Steve Levy
Alcides Dias	...	Michael (as Al 'Train' Dias)
Mike Cerrone	...	Paulie

Storyline

This comedy is about two guys who decide to rig the Special Olympics to pay off a debt by having one of them, Steve (Knoxville), pose as a contestant in the games, hoping to dethrone reigning champion, Jimmy. Mentally-challenged high jinks and hilarity surely follow.

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Plot Keywords:

debt | olympics | special olympics | mentally challenged | 2000s | 

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Taglines:

Only a jackass would fix the Special Olympics

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and some drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

El farsante

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,702,439 (USA) (23 December 2005)

Gross:

$35,424,335 (USA) (24 March 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Conundrum Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has been given a blessing by the Special Olympics.

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Goofs

In the scene when Steve is trying to fire Stavi, in one of the first shots of Stavi cleaning the toilet, the seat is down. Then it shows Steve talking. When it goes back to Stavi cleaning, the seat is up.

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Quotes

Billy: SCRATCH! SCRAAAAAAAAATCH! Oh my stars of the love of Liza. You scratch my C-D!

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Connections

References I Am Sam (2001)

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Soundtracks

We Got to Get You a Woman
Written and Performed by Todd Rundgren
Courtesy of Bearsville Records
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

This movie has so much heart!

I got 2 free passes to see this film... I had very low expectations since it starred Johnny Knoxville who I, until today, only associated with really grotesque behavior on Jackass. The combination of that and Special Olympics smelled like it could be a cheap joke at the expense of Special Olympians but in fact it turned out to be just the opposite! It totally surpassed my expectations! It was a truly sweet, laugh out loud funny feel-good movie with big big heart. It portrayed the Olympians in a really caring way and those characters totally made the movie. I didn't have any trouble swallowing Johnny as a naive guy with a big heart, but people who've seen him in Jackass might find the contrast startling at first. It might be too sweet, or too predictably Hollywood for some people... But the physical comedy and naive sweetness really won me over in the end. I look forward to watching this film again.