The Ringer

A guy trying to do the right thing ends up taking part in one of the most morally dubious con games in history in this comedy. Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) is an office drone who wants to move up the corporate ladder, but when he asks his boss for a promotion, it comes with a condition -- Steve has to fire Stavi (Luis Avalos), who has been the firm's janitor for years. Steve decides to soften the blow by hiring Stavi to do his lawn and garden work. However, an accident robs Stavi of several of his fingers, and since he doesn't have medical insurance, Steve needs to find a way to pay for his surgery. Steve's uncle Gary (Brian Cox), a sleazy type who will bet on anything, also needs some fast cash, and comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme -- Steve was a track star in high school, and with the Special Olympics Championships coming up, all Steve has to do is pretend to be mentally challenged, enter the competition, and win the running events against six-time medalist Jimmy (Leonard Flowers). Gary will bet big on Steve, and the odds will allow them to clean up. Steve is appalled by the idea, but he needs the money badly enough to go along. However, Steve discovers that Jimmy is fast enough that he has little chance of beating him. However, Jimmy's colossal ego has made him many enemies among his fellow Special Olympians, and they're eager enough to see him taken down a peg that they help Steve train for the big event. Matters become all the more complicated when Steve becomes infatuated with Lynn (Katherine Heigl), a beautiful woman who has volunteered to help the challenged athletes, and would doubtless be furious if she found out what Steve was really doing. Produced by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, The Ringer was the first fiction directorial credit for Barry W. Blaustein; the story also parallels a 2004 episode of the animated television series South Park, "Up the Down Steroid.", Barry W Blaustein's comedy, produced by the Farrelly Brothers, stars Johnny Knoxville as Steve Barker, a low level executive who needs to raise money for his uninsured gardener, who was crippled in an accident. Steve's uncle Gary, who is in debt to the mob, has an idea that will solve both their problems: Steve will enter and win at the Special Olympics and Gary will make a fortune betting on him. Feigning learning difficulties, Steve, now calling himself Jeffy Dahmer, joins the team, but his fellow competitors aren't fooled for a moment. Admiring his chutzpah, they keep quiet, and Jeffy also embarks on a romance with volunteer Lynn Sheridan. What could have been an exercise in poor taste rises above it because it treats the characters with both affection and respect, showing the Special Olympians as engaging and humorous individuals and largely poking fun at Gary and Steve.