''The Ringer'' is a 2005 American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

sports comedy A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport ...

starring

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and ...

, and Brian Cox with cameos by

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – ...

and

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

. Directed by Barry W. Blaustein, it was produced by the

Farrelly brothers Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and ''There's Something ...

. The film was released on December 23, 2005, by

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...

Plot

One day, Steve Barker (

) suddenly receives a promotion at work, and is forced to fire his friend Stavi (

Luis Ávalos Luis Ávalos (September 2, 1946 – January 22, 2014) was a Cuban character actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, most notably in the 1971–1977 children's television show ''The Electric Company''. Early years After being bo ...

). Steve reluctantly does so, but hires him to work around his apartment. While working, Stavi loses three fingers in a lawn-mower accident, and reveals that he does not have health insurance; Steve decides to raise $28,000 within two weeks to pay for the surgery to re-attach Stavi's fingers. His uncle Gary ( Brian Cox), owes $40,000 in gambling debts and suggests that they fix the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...

San Marcos, Texas San Marcos ( ) is a city and the county seat of Hays County, Texas, United States. The city's limits extend into Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties, as well. San Marcos is within the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area and on the Interstate 35 ...

in order to solve both of their financial problems. Steve reluctantly enters the Special Olympics under the guise of being a high functioning young man named Jeffy Dahmor with a

developmental disability Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

. Gary, assuming that Steve will easily defeat the legitimate contenders, bets $100,000 that reigning champion Jimmy Washington (Leonard Flowers) won't win the gold medal. Despite initially being disgusted at pretending to be intellectually disabled, Steve goes along with it for Stavi. During the competition, Steve falls in love with Lynn (

), a volunteer for the Special Olympics. During this time, six other contestants see through Steve's act, so he tells them the truth about Stavi. As Steve decides to leave after being exposed, they tell him to stay, resolving to help Steve save Stavi's fingers and because they want to see the arrogant Jimmy lose. In the meantime, Steve befriends the other contestants: he encourages Thomas ( Bill Chott) to talk to a girl he likes, and even takes the group to see a showing of '' Dirty Dancing''. Steve gradually gets to know Lynn more, but is dismayed to learn that she is seeing David ( Zen Gesner); after Steve discovers that David was cheating behind Lynn's back, she breaks up with him. At one point, Steve feels remorse for taking part in the Special Olympics and tells a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in a

confession booth A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but s ...

, only for the priest to punch him in the face and kick him out of church. At the final competition, Steve's friend Glen (

Jed Rees Jed Rees (born March 8, 1970) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles in movies such as ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), '' The Ringer'' (2005), ''Deadpool'' (2016), and '' American Made'' (2017). Early life Rees studied music for two years in co ...

) comes in first, with Steve coming in third behind Jimmy. During the medal ceremony, Steve admits that he is not developmentally disabled, reveals his true name, and gives his medal to Thomas, who had finished fourth. Lynn, upset at Steve, rebuffs him when he attempts to apologize to her. Uncle Gary still ends up winning his bet, as his condition was that Jimmy would lose. Six months later, Steve has quit his job and is working in theater, producing a play with the friends he made during the Special Olympics, as well as Stavi, who got his fingers reattached. Glen and the others trick Lynn into coming to the theater, and Steve starts to apologize. Lynn forgives him because Stavi told her why Steve pretended to be developmentally disabled, and they kiss. In a mid-credits scene, Steve and his friends dance onstage with

the Kids of Widney High The Kids of Widney High is an American music group composed of students with mental disabilities from the special education J. P. Widney High School in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The band consists of students with physic ...

as they perform the song "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

Cast

as Steve Barker * Brian Cox as Gary Barker *

as Lynn Sheridan *

as Glen Chervin * Bill Chott as Thomas Wetzig *

Edward Barbanell Edward "Eddie" Barbanell (born December 6, 1977) is an American actor and comedian with Down syndrome, best known for playing the character of Billy in the 2005 film '' The Ringer''. He attended Coral Springs High School where he graduated in 19 ...

as Billy B'Devore *

Leonard Earl Howze Leonard Earl Howze (born April 26, 1977) is an American actor that has been credited in over 20 movie and television roles, most notably for his role as "Dinka" in the first two films of the '' Barbershop'' trilogy, '' Barbershop'' and '' Barber ...

as Mark *

Geoffrey Arend Geoffrey Rashid Arend (born February 28, 1978) is an American film, television, voice and theater actor. He is best known for his role as Ethan Gross on the ABC drama series ''Body of Proof'', Matt Mahoney on the CBS political drama series '' M ...

as Winston Kelso Smith * John Taylor as Rudy *

Luis Avalos Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

as Stavi * Leonard Flowers as Jimmy Washington Professional wrestlers

and

's cameo appearances came about due to their friendship with director Barry Blaustein, who met the pair whilst filming wrestling documentary '' Beyond the Mat'' in the late 1990s. Funk portrayed one of the debt collectors, while Ventura lent his voice as a motivational speaker on tape.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

sportscaster

Steve Levy Steve Levy (; born March 12, 1965) is an American journalist and sportscaster for ESPN. He is known for his work broadcasting college football, ''Monday Night Football'' and the National Hockey League. Early life and career Levy went to Jo ...

also appears in the movie as himself.

Production notes

The film took seven years to get made due to its controversial subject. The Special Olympics committee eventually agreed to endorse the film, the film makers having given them final say on the script. Producer Farrelly is himself a longtime volunteer with

Best Buddies Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers t ...

, a group that provides mentoring program for people with intellectual disabilities, and has prominently featured characters with disabilities in his previous films such as Warren the brother of Mary in '' There's Something About Mary'' and Rocket in '' Stuck on You''. During the end credits, scenes from Shakespeare's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' are shown being performed, ending with the Kids of Widney High performing

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

's "

Reception

The film-review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

lists 40% positive reviews based on 89 critics, with an average rating of 5.00/10. The site's consensus states: "Despite a few laughs and good intentions, ''The Ringer'' is too predictable to really score the points it aims for." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film three out of four stars, stating: "The movie surprised me. It treats its disabled characters with affection and respect... and it's actually kind of sweet."Ebert, Roger.
The Ringer (PG-13)
" ''Chicago Sun Times,'' 22 December 2005. Spinal Cord Injury Zone stated: "Instead of tugging at the heartstrings, ''The Ringer'' uses the typical outrageous Farrelly Brothers humor ('' There's Something About Mary'', '' Stuck on You'', ''

Shallow Hal ''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black about a shallow man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman after being hypnotized into only seeing a person's inner beauty. Directed by the Farrell ...

'') to promote the message that just like everyone else, individuals with intellectual disabilities are people first, each with their own interests, talents, abilities and personalities. The movie also features more than 150 people with intellectual disabilities in small parts and supporting roles."

Soundtrack

# "Ton of Shame"- Written by:

Randy Weeks Randy Weeks is an American singer and songwriter. Lucinda Williams (who covered Weeks' song " Can't Let Go") has said: "Randy Weeks writes amazingly well crafted, beautifully melodic songs and delivers them with his own brand of laid back vocals ...

...Performed by: Randy Weeks # "

Mr. Sandman "Mr. Sandman" (or "Mister Sandman") is a popular song written by Pat Ballard and published in 1954. It was first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra and later that year by the Chordettes and the Four Aces. The song's ly ...

"- Written by: Pat Ballard # "Sweet Ride"- Written by:

Gustaf Norén Gustaf Erik David Norén (born 1 February 1981 in Borlänge) is a Swedish musician (songwriting, vocals, guitar) and actor. He was previously one of the two frontmen of the Swedish band Mando Diao and is one half of the duo ''Gustaf & Viktor Nor� ...

and

Björn Dixgård Björn Hans-Erik Dixgård (born 8 May 1981) is a Swedish musician (vocals, guitar). He is the frontman of the Swedish band Mando Diao. Biography 220px, Dixgård in 2013 Björn Hans-Erik Dixgård was born on 8 May 1981, near Falun, Sweden, as the ...

...Performed by:

Mando Diao Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album ''Hurricane Bar''. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Band members are Björn Di ...

# "Wink and a Nod"- Written by:

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

...Performed by: The Funny Bones # "Merlot"- Written by:

...Performed by: The Tasters # "Real Thing"- Written by:

...Performed by:

The Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

# "Main Title- Written by:

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

...Performed by:

# "Calvera"- Written by:

...Performed by:

# "Hot Sugar"- Written by: Sammy James Jr. and Graham Tyler...Performed by:

The Mooney Suzuki The Mooney Suzuki is an American garage rock band that formed in New York City in 1996. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Sammy James, Jr., guitarist Graham Tyler, bassist John Paul Ribas and drummer Will Rockwell-Scott, the band has ...

# "Girls Gone Wild"- Written by: Karlyton Clanton, Rochad Holiday and Chris Reese...Performed by: Dirty Rat # "We Got to Get You a Woman"- Written by:

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

...Performed by:

# "If She Wants Me"- Written by: Sarah Martin, Stuart Murdoch,

Richard Colburn Richard Colburn (born 25 July 1970) is the drummer of the Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian. Before he joined Belle & Sebastian, he used to sell pies on match days outside Celtic Park and studied Music Business at Stow College. Appears as: ...

Mick Cooke Mick Cooke (born 15 December 1973) is a Scottish muli-instrumentalist who was the trumpet player of the indie band Belle & Sebastian for fifteen years before leaving in 2013 to concentrate on composing full-time.Taylor, Luke (2013)Interview: M ...

(as Michael Cooke), Christopher Geddes,

Stevie Jackson Stephen Jackson (born 16 January 1969) is a Scottish musician and songwriter. He plays lead guitar and sings in the Glasgow-based indie band Belle and Sebastian. Career Jackson's early musical influences include Madness, ABBA, Orchestral Man ...

(as Stephen Jackson) and Bob Kildea- Performed by:

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...

# " Piano Man"- Written by:

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

# " My Cherie Amour"- Written by:

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

Sylvia Moy Sylvia Rose Moy (September 15, 1938 – April 15, 2017) was an American songwriter and record producer, formerly associated with the Motown Records group. The first woman at the Detroit-based music label to write and produce for Motown acts, she i ...

and

Henry Cosby Henry R. "Hank" Cosby (May 12, 1928 – January 22, 2002) was an American songwriter, arranger, producer and musician who worked for Motown Records from its formative years. Along with Sylvia Moy, Cosby was a key collaborator with Stevie Wonder ...

# "Kellerman's Anthem"- Written by: Michael Goldman # "Fox Sports Network College Basketball Theme 2001"- Written by: Christopher Brady # "

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

"- Written by:

Allee Willis Alta Sherral "Allee" Willis (November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019) was an American songwriter, multi-media artist, collector, and art director. Willis co-wrote hit songs including " September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire. She ...

Al McKay AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

and

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...

...Performed by

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million rec ...

# "Pretty Girls"- Written by: Carl Brown, Shelly Goodhope, Tanesa Tavin, Daniel Brattain, Veronica Mendez, Darrell Mitchell, Albert Cota, Chantel Roquemore and Michael Monagan...Performed by:

The Kids Of Widney High The Kids of Widney High is an American music group composed of students with mental disabilities from the special education J. P. Widney High School in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The band consists of students with physic ...

# "

"- Written by:

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

...Performed by: The Kids Of Widney High # "

You Are Everything "You Are Everything" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed and originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. The Stylistics version An R&B ballad, it was the sixth track from their 1971 debut self-titled albu ...

"- Written by:

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1 ...

and

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

(as Thomas Bell)...Performed by:

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ringer 2000s sports comedy films 2005 films Down syndrome in film American independent films Films about mental health Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh Fox Searchlight Pictures films Special Olympics 2005 independent films Films directed by Barry W. Blaustein 2005 comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films

Plot

Cast

Production notes

Reception

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links