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I sat at the computer, slipping on “The
Ringer,” and I stood waiting to smash this film up and down, left and
right, and through the trash compactor. I was preparing my low rating,
and was anxiously awaiting the time to slip this in the crap heap; hell,
I even wrote a few zingers trashing it. And when I was finished I was
stunned. I liked “The Ringer.” I liked it a lot. Because, in spite of
the jack ass from “Jackass” starring, and the potential for a complete
cheapening of the Special Olympics, every opportunity this film had to
spit in our faces, it didn’t. The controversy behind this was pointless.
Because, in spite of the previews, “The Ringer” really isn’t a cheap
comedy. The mentally disabled pictured here are not comedy props for
fart jokes, and they’re not caricatures, or objects to laugh at.
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Director Blaustein and writer
Blitt paint these mentally disabled individuals as actual
people with personalities that do not revolve around their
disabilities. Some are computer wiz’s, some are experts in
movie trivia, and many are loyal to one another. In spite of
my pre-conceived notions with it, “The Ringer” sheds a
positive light on the folks in the Special Olympics, and
that’s what makes it worth watching. That and the fact that
it’s an often surprisingly entertaining bit of comedy that’s
never as low brow as you’d expect. |
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Steve, in an attempt to help out a janitor
whose fingers were just cut off, decides to pretend to be mentally
disabled, join the special Olympics, and use the prize money to
re-attach the fingers, but in mission, he finds a lot more. What’s most
interesting and appealing about “The Ringer” is the interplay between
Knoxville’s character and the people within the Special Olympics he
finds a connection with. Blaustein plays their relationship with comedy
that makes them nothing more than buddies protecting one another. Once
Steve, masquerading as mentally disabled Jeffy Dahmer, with the help of
his con man uncle (Brian Cox), his pre-conceived notions turns into what
he realizes are stereotypes.
Knoxville’s performance is shockingly good as this loser with the best
of intentions from beginning to end, and he’s never as slimy as the
audience thinks he is. Steve’s entrance into the competition and his
friendship with the contestants ends up very engaging, especially with
Katherine Heigl in a memorable supporting performance. What could have
been another throwaway love interest really expands into a likable
character whose story of her involvement with the mentally disabled is
very wrenching. “The Ringer” hits all the right notes in comedy, light
down to Earth drama, and a resulting tasteful comedy that’s worth
watching. Even if you’re not a fan of Knoxville.
I just didn’t understand the controversy
behind “The Ringer.” Maybe it was bad press for the sake of hype, or
perhaps just more morons making a fuss over a film they haven’t seen
just yet, but when I was finished, I didn’t see the big deal. It’s not
just some shitty comedy from Tom Green, and it didn’t warrant any sort
of hype in the end. And Blitt, even in surprising with a film that’s not
what the audience will expect, provides us with the same amount of
predictability you expect from every modern comedy. There’s the rival
competitor, and the boyfriend of Heigl’s character who is the temporary
obstacle to provide padding for the story. And did we ever learn what
happened with Steve’s uncle and the 40,000 dollars he owed to the loan
sharks?
I enjoyed “The Ringer.” Now I can officially
throw myself down the stairs. No one is as shocked I enjoyed it as much
as I am, but “The Ringer” is not some shitty cheap comedy, it’s a
hilarious tasteful dramedy about a man learning that the mentally
disabled are in fact human, and in the process, the audiences learns
too.
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