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Actors: Johnny Knoxville, Brian Cox, Katherine Heigl
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Ringer |
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Steve Barker is a nice guy stuck in a boring job. When Steve works up the courage to ask his boss for a promotion, his his boss says yes, with one condition: Steve must first fire Stave, the janitor at the company. To soften the blow, Steve offers to employ the janitor himself, which quickly backfires when a lawn care accident lands him in the hospital. Desperate for the cash, Steve calls his uncle Gary. Gary comes up with with a plan for him to compete in the Special Olympics as a "ringer," while trying to beat the six-time Gold Medal Jimmy, who Gary will bet against. Steve goes along with the plan and transforms himself into a made up character named "Jeffy,". But trying to be retarded turns out to be a far greater challenge than Steve ever imagined. He had to convince Special Olympics volunteer Lynn Sheridan, who steve has a crush on, and had to try and win the friendship of the competitors. Steve is doing badly, and having trouble winning events. Steve's co-competitors soon find out about the scam. But instead of turning against him they decide to train Steve, hoping he can beat Jimmy.
--Matt, Resident Scholar
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After a lawn mowing accident takes three fingers from one of his friends, Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) must come up with a way to obtain $28,000 to pay for the operation. With basically no other options, Barker is persuaded by his often crude, gambling addicted uncle Gary (Brian Cox) to rig the Special Olympics by pretending to be one of the mentally disabled athletes.
Gary enlists his nephew in the games as "Jeffy Dahmor" and makes a $100,000 bet with a mobster that Jimmy, the six-time reigning Special Olympics champion who has agents and sponsors and is modeled after notoriously cocky athlete Deion Sanders, will not win the next event.
Jeffy has a difficult time communicating with his fellow athletes and finds the event to be a greater challenge than he could ever imagine. Soon after the group of athletes catches onto his scam, but instead of turning him in they help him train because they want to put an end to Jimmy's winning streak because they can't stand his huge ego.
As they help each other train, the group even plays matchmaker for Jeffy with Lynn Sheridan (Katherine Heigl), a Special Olympics volunteer that he is smitten with.
Complications with Lynn arise and Jeffy must keep a clear head if he expects to win the Special Olympics.
--Adam Tobias, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Ringer |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
- present (2000-2010)
Struggle with
- special abilities
Kind of sports story:
- olympics
Sports story?
Yes
Kind of comedy
- retard does well
Brain/Body not working?
- physical disability
How much humor v. drama
- Nearly all humor
- Mostly humor, but some serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- salesman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- obsessed
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
- another color
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Dumb?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (woman) long straight
- (woman) long wavey
Body type
- (man) very skinny
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- coach/trainer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
- 60%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) very short/crewcut
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) fat
- (man) muscular
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
- Black
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Retarded
- Average intelligence
Physique
- bulging muscles
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- sports arena
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- encouraged
- full of laughter
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
- Some foul language
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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