Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

willcundallreview Rating-6/10The Ringer is a comedy movie about a guy who wants to rig the Special Olympics to pay for his gardeners needed surgery, yes it is pretty crazy. Starring Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl and a huge cast behind them, this movie is positively brimming with life, and the occasional laugh from them. You may think a movie about a man pretending to have learning difficulties is offensive and that casting people with similar conditions is too, but the true warm feel of this movie makes them not a thing to laugh at, they are good actors and can make some good jokes of their own. The story is pretty basic there's no doubt but it is still unique and with the kind of comedy that can at times be silly, mixed with genuine emotion too, this is one movie that can have you laughing on moments and stirring your heart the next. That said this film is far from perfect, some jokes aren't too great and with a film that as said is kind of silly, you get some hit and miss moments but all in all it is OK for me.Knoxville plays Steve(or Jeffy as he becomes known when pretending), and he acts it out well enough, not great all the way through but a good choice nevertheless. Katherine Heigl you may feel wastes her talent with a comedy like this but it's far from it, she is probably the most serious character but for me she is finest when being kind, it makes Heigl come off very well as an actor. The film uses a lot of people with learning disabilities, and they are great and as I said, they bring warmth to this and they are not to laugh at, you laugh with them.Director Barry Blaustein I felt does this very well, he works with the comedy duo the Farrelly Brothers who produced this and together they just seem to make this work, whether it's the story or the humour I'll never know. This movies writing isn't exactly spot on, Blaustein seems to direct the bad parts of the script well enough not to be a disaster but then again the script isn't all bad, just not great. Overall this movie really isn't for everybody, I expect mixed reviews and also mixed reactions as this could stir up an argument or two. In the end it is a sweet movie I felt and one that although I wouldn't be bursting to see again, is still worth another watch and for me that is all that counts. Oh and one more thing to mention, if you like the Farrelly brothers style of comedy seen in such films as "There's Something about Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber" among many others, then you should love this as this is just like the brand of comedy they represent.

SnoopyStyle Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) goes to his boss to ask for a promotion. His first job is to fire the janitor Stavi. He can't bring himself to do it and instead hires him to mow his lawn. Stavi accidentally cuts off his finger and Steve needs $28k to get it reattached. His sleazy uncle Gary (Brian Cox) comes up with the idea to fix the Special Olympics. Gary wants him to pose as mentally challenged to beat the pentathlon champ Jimmy Washington. He falls for event organizer Lynn Sheridan (Katherine Heigl).The start is pretty weak with a wishywashy lead character. I don't think Knoxville is particularly good at playing that character. Katherine Heigl is fairly wooden in this. Knoxville pretending to be slow is par for the course for most of his movies. None of these problems mean the end of the world. I actually like the real handicap actors in this. The biggest problem I have are all the actors acting as mentally handicap. It feels demeaning and fake. Unless they are trying to be Dustin Hoffman doing Rain Man, this was never going to work. They are better off simply getting real handicap actors to do the roles. Even if they can't quite say the lines, they could concentrate the acting to the few that seem to do good work. It's kind of insulting. It's uncomfortable. It's not funny. I just keep thinking that Knoxville is suppose to be stupid and funny for faking a mental handicap. Yet there are all these other actors who are actually faking mental handicap and the audience has to take them seriously.

coljam21 This movie was just plain disturbing to watch and it made me uncomfortable. It was funny until Knoxville went to the Special Olympics camp. It just didn't seem right that he should pretend to be special needs among actual special needs people. Then there were a few regular actors pretending to be special needs and going overboard with acting retarded, it down right made me uncomfortable.How in the world did the director think anyone would find scenes with special needs being made fun of humorous? I guess the costume people thought the only way to make a regular person look like they are special needs to make them wear a pair of glasses that will magnify their eyes. This entire fiasco of a movie was cringe worthy and unwatchable. It was truly embarrassing for the cast, especially the leads.

Mike Kiker While this isn't a horrible movie, it's certainly not good. After the bombs that were "Say It Isn't So", "Shallow Hal", & "Stuck On You", I was hoping that this would be something of a comeback for the Farrelly Brothers. Little did I know, that this would be nothing more than a predictable rip-off of a South Park episode.Also, it seems to me that the Farelly Brothers are fixated with using the mentally handicapped in their films, usually for comedic purposes (a good example is the character Warren from "There's Something About Mary"). This film seems to be the ultimate payoff of that fixation, with the main plot being all about the handicapped, and some of the main actors either acting handicapped or really being handicapped! I know that the brothers do good things. But do they do it out of guilt for their use of handicapped people as the butt of jokes? Seems like it to me.However, despite this film being sub-par, the acting is actually surprisingly well done. I think that Johnny Knoxville is actually a decent actor. The material here is hardly worthwhile, but he does breathes some life into the script. I'd recommend watching "Grand Theft Parsons" and/or "Daltrey Calhoun" if you really wanna see Knoxville's acting chops put to work.This film is also known as the film that jump-started the career of the vexatious Katherine Heigl. I can only tolerate this woman for her... um... how can I put this?... her... um... Nevermind. Anyway, I thought she was good in "Knocked Up", at first, but on repeated viewings, I realized that it was just her... um... ya know... the... ah, forget it. I stopped caring about her when she had the audacity to go out and trash "Knocked Up". She's completely full of herself (wait... could that be a double entendre?), and has not a shred of acting chops whatsoever. She's just eye candy. Hey, Heigl! Fulfill your role as eye candy, and do all of us guys a favor, and take your top off or pose for Playboy already! There I said it! Happy? Anyway, back to "The Ringer"...It's definitely not on par with what I believe to be their masterworks; "Dumb & Dumber", "Kingpin", and "Outside Providence". However, I've seen some WAY worse films. This is just mildly average. Not bad, but not good either. I'd recommend seeing the South Park episode, "Up The Down Steroid" instead. That episode is only 22 minutes, has a more engaging storyline that's better written and better acted, and best of all, no Katherine Heigl (unless you can stand watching anything that she's in for her... um... ah... man this is tough to say over IMDb... Alright... Her large pendulous breasts!!!! There I finally said it! I'm a sick, sick pervert who likes large-breasted women! Happy?).