O Trapaceiro

Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) hates his job but after over two years of working, receives a promotion. His first duty is to fire his friend Stavi (Luis Ávalos), who is the janitor. Steve reluctantly does so, but hires him to work around his apartment. Stavi gets three fingers cut off in a lawn-mower accident, and reveals that he does not have health insurance. Steve must raise $28,000 within a few weeks to pay for the surgery to re-attach his friend's fingers. His sleazy uncle Gary (Brian Cox), owes $40,000 in gambling debts and suggests that they fix the Special Olympics in in order to solve both of their financial problems. Steve, who competed in track and field in high school as well as having acted in the drama club, reluctantly enters the Special Olympics in the guise of a high functioning young man with a developmental disability named Jeffy.

The Ringer took 7 years to get made due to studios being put off by its premise. The script gained more traction once it got the endorsement of the Special Olympics and executive producer Peter Farrelly is himself a volunteer with Best Buddies, an organization that provides mentorships to special needs persons, and has routinely included characters in his films such as There's Something About Mary and Stuck on You. The movie also serves a test vehicle for Johnny Knoxville's ability to carry a comedy outside of his Jackass wheelhouse (Dukes of Hazzard reboot aside) and the movie is actually a very funny and surprisingly sweet film that shows just how good a leading man Knoxville can be.

Despite a premise that could easily be turned towards the lowest common denominator, the movie does a good job of deriving humor from its premise without making itself a one joke affair. The Special Athletes who make up the supporting cast aren't defined solely by their disability and take a lot of pride and dignity in their training and goals. When the special athletes find out about Steve and Gary's scam they're understandably angered by it but when they find out why he did it they actually work with him to help while also playing to their own desires to take the arrogant champion, Jimmy Washington, down a peg by breaking his multi year streak. There's a lot of humanity on display in this movie that makes these characters three dimensional but still allows them to be both fun and funny.

Johnny Knoxville is very good playing Steve Barker who's a likable good natured slob who just wants to do right by his friend, and he showcases some really good comic energy and timing as he switches between himself and the persona he's created with Jeffy. Katherine Heigl plays Lynn, a volunteer with the Special Olympics who is also a love interest for Knoxville's character and she plays the character with sweetness and sincerity and has genuinely desire to help and foster persons with special needs due to her own experience with her brother. Brian Cox is despicably good as Steve's sleazy, lecherous, gambling uncle Gary, and the exchanges between Cox and Knoxville are incredibly well done with Knoxville reacting just perfectly to Gary's casual ableism.

The Ringer takes a subject that could've easily been played too safe or too lowbrow and finds the perfect balance for it. While not every joke lands, the ratio is more hits than misses and an assortment of likable characters who feel fully formed and not just punchline machines give the movie a level of sweetness and sincerity that's uncommon in this type of movie.

As Head of Delegation for a Special Olympic Texas team who has athletes featured in this movie, I have to take exception with the concept of assuming the athletes are being teased and made fun of in this movie. I spent most of 3 months on the set watching the filming 2 years ago and I know how very carefully Special Olympics International has watched the development of this movie. They have been involved in every aspect of this movie, from script development to final product. I also know how very careful Special Olympics is with putting their seal of approval on projects. They simply do not endorse ANYTHING, yet they are completely and 100% behind this movie.

I have seen the movie and can't wait to take every member of my team. Many of them have seen the movie and indeed are in it. At the premiere in Austin December 6 my athletes were howling with laughter and having a great time. While I will admit that Johnny Knoxville, the Farrelly Brothers and Special Olympics do not seem to make the best mix in the world, this works. And it is a beautiful movie. There are a few dirty words (like Forrest Gump) and a few tasteless jokes, but it is screamingly funny and has worlds of heart. The athletes are always, ALWAYS treated with the utmost respect. Unlike most movies about the mentally handicapped, there are major parts in this movie played by genuine special Olympic athletes, and they used some 200 special Olympic extra's. This was a labor of love, on both sides of the camera. It deserves to be viewed and respected. The producers had a vision of bringing to life and light the fact that mentally challenged people are well rounded and enjoyable people. They did it beautifully. Go see the movie and laugh with all your 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.

I like many people saw the trailer for this film and instantly felt angry at the Farrelly's for crossing the line and taking the rip out of the disabled, after seeing it the only person having the rip taken out of him was johnny Knoxville who is brilliantly cast as the stooge of his addicted gambler uncle, Brian Cox.

The story of a man who fakes mental disability in order to compete in the special Olympics and win money in a betting scandal seems like it would be just too awful to be believed. But after demanding to be considered for a management condition and given the job of firing Stavi the cleaner, Johnny Knoxville's nice guy character decides to hire him as a gardener, only for him to chop his fingers off. Needing several thousand dollars to pay his hospital bills, he takes the advice of his twisted uncle, played superbly by Brian Cox, to fake disability and rig the special Olympics.

To those who doubt the quality of the film, I say trust the highest raters, this is a very funny film! Don't get me wrong film fans, if you want to see a classic comedy try Duck Soup and Annie Hall, but this is really funny and not only that but the film does have it's heart firmly in the right place.

Like Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey this is one of the best underrated comedies and a true hidden gem.

people who think this is a small minded movie and offensive need to get a life. This movie does not poke fun at disabilities, in fact it applauds those with special needs, the only character to be made to look stupid here is johnny Knoxville's character.

funny one liners, good acting and an all round entertaining comedy.

Just watch it u may be surprised, the plot isn't exactly brilliant the acting isn't Oscar winning but none of that matters, the film has heart and is very entertaining like most farrelly brothers movies with the exception of stuck on you.

well worth a watch