The Ringer
Directed by	Barry W. Blaustein
Produced by	Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly
Written by	Ricky Blitt
Starring	Johnny Knoxville Katherine Heigl Brian Cox
Music by	Mark Mothersbaugh
Cinematography	Mark Irwin
Editing by	George Folsey Jr.
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight
Release date(s)	23 December 2005
Running time	94 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

For The Legend of Zelda episode with the same name, see The Ringer (episode)

The Ringer is a 2005 comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl, and Brian Cox with cameos by Terry Funk and Jesse Ventura. It is produced by the Farrelly Brothers and was released on December 23, 2005 by Fox Searchlight. Image File history File links Theringer_poster. ... Bobby Farrelly is a screenwriter, producer and director from Cumberland, Rhode Island. ... Peter Farrelly is a screenwriter, producer, director and novelist from Cumberland, Rhode Island. ... Ricky Blitt is an American screenwriter, executive producer, show creator, and voice actor. ... Johnny Knoxville (born Philip John Clapp on March 11, 1971 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American comic actor and daredevil. ... Katherine Marie Heigl (born November 24, 1978) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress. ... Brian Denis Cox, CBE (born June 1, 1946 in Dundee, Scotland) is a Scottish actor, notable for being the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter, a role he took in the Michael Mann film Manhunter (in which the characters surname was spelled Lecktor). Image:Http://www. ... Mark Mothersbaugh (born May 18, 1950, in Akron, Ohio) is an American musician, composer, singer, and painter. ... Mark Irwin is a prolific Canadian cinematographer. ... Fox Searchlight Pictures is the specialty films division of Twentieth Century Fox. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Legend of Zelda was an American animated series loosely based on the first and second Legend of Zelda games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. ... The Ringer is the first animated episode of The Legend of Zelda cartoons for the The Super Mario Bros. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Johnny Knoxville (born Philip John Clapp on March 11, 1971 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American comic actor and daredevil. ... Katherine Marie Heigl (born November 24, 1978) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress. ... Brian Denis Cox, CBE (born June 1, 1946 in Dundee, Scotland) is a Scottish actor, notable for being the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter, a role he took in the Michael Mann film Manhunter (in which the characters surname was spelled Lecktor). Image:Http://www. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos on July 15, 1951), also known as The Body, The Star, The Mind, and Governor Body, is an American politician, former professional wrestler, Navy UDT veteran, actor, and former radio and television talk show host. ... A film producer creates the conditions for making movies. ... The Farrelly brothers, Peter (b. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... Fox Searchlight Pictures is the specialty films division of Twentieth Century Fox. ...

Plot

The story follows Steve (Knoxville), who must raise a large sum of money to pay for a surgery to re-attach his gardener's fingers. His uncle Gary (Cox), who owes $40,000 in gambling debts, suggests that they fix the Special Olympics in San Marcos, Texas in order to solve both of their financial problems. Steve, who competed in track and field in high school as well as being in the drama club, enters the Special Olympics in the guise of a "high functioning developmentally disabled young man" named Jeffy Dahmor. Gary, assuming that Steve will easily defeat the legitimate contenders, bets $100,000 that reigning champion Jimmy Washington will not win the gold medal. While in this he falls in love with a volunteer. The other contestants easily spot this ringer and they help him cause Jimmy's loss. He does not actually win, his friend, Glenn, does. Jeffy gets the girl in the end. Match fixing or game fixing in organized sports occurs when a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A womens 400m hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Developmental disability is a term used to describe life-long disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical or combination of mental and physical impairments, manifested prior to age twenty-two. ... Ringer is a term with several meanings: In colloquial English language, it refers to a specialist who is clandestinely brought into a group or team to bolster its capabilities. ...

Reception

The movie was met with mixed reviews. Some critics thought that it was too predictable.[1] However, noted critic Roger Ebert gave it a positive review.[2] Roger Joseph Ebert (June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...

There is currently a lot of controversy that the movie's plot was stolen from animated series "South Park" in an episode where "Cartman" pretended to be mentally handicapped to win a prize in the Special Olympics. This article is about the animated television series. ... Eric Cartman on his tricycle Eric Theodore Cartman, voiced by Trey Parker, is a fictional character in the animated series South Park. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Box office

When it opened Stava earned $7,702,439 and his box office total was $35,019,634. He also earned $40,800,000 in DVD sales.

Trivia

• In the scene where everybody comes back from the movie, when Winston (Geoffrey Arend) says his line "When the fuck did we get ice cream", Johnny Knoxville can be seen laughing.

External links

• Official Site
• The Ringer at the Internet Movie Database
• The Ringer at MySpace
• The Ringer at Yahoo movies
• The Ringer at Empire Movies
• The Ringer trailers at Apple Trailers
• PopMatters review (12/2005)
• Review by Gail Williamson
• The Ringer at Rotten Tomatoes