 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
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 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Ringer
- Review Date: May 14, 2006
- PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- 2005
Common Sense Media says
Edgy Johnny Knoxville comedy - not for everyone.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie means to be offensive, with jokes about bowel movements, pee, vomit, toilets, the loss of fingers in a lawnmower, and indeed, the basic premise (rigging the Special Olympics). The movie also features repeated adolescent sex humor, including allusions to masturbation, homosexual activity, prostitution, and "cheerleaders."
What's the story?
THE RINGER begins with Steve (Johnny Knoxville) in desperate need of cash, when his friend Stavi (Luis Avalos) loses his fingers in an accident, and lacks health insurance. As it happens, Steve's Uncle Gary (Brian Cox) needs to pay off his beefy loan shark Michael (Al Train Dias): together they scheme to defraud the Special Olympics. As Gary sees it, a "normal guy against a bunch of feebs" is a guaranteed win. "You'll look like Carl Lewis out there," he gushes. As Steve pretends to be "Jeffy," his primary opponent is Jimmy Washington (real-life Wheaties special athlete and box model Leonard Flowers), the Games superstar for the past six years. Jimmy wins metals and falls for Special Olympics volunteer Lynn (Katherine Heigl), who is in a wretched relationship with a handsome cad.
Is it any good?
Like other Farrelly brothers films (they produced this one), The Ringer has obnoxious, cringe-inducing jokes framed within a conventional romance. The film's fundamental lesson is that the "intellectually challenged" and the supposedly unchallenged are only differentiated by dominant perception and beliefs, that "normal" is measurable and desirable.
The movie draws attention to differences in perceptions by special and non-special characters, with the former consistently more insightful and compassionate. They see through Steve's performance when all the "normals" don't. But they also want him to stay on, because they want to see Jimmy beaten, and this leads to scenes ranging from rowdy to charming, as the "beat Jimmy" crew shares stories about being told what they "can't do."
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the propriety of joking about intellectually challenged characters: though the special athletes are arguably the most entertaining and well-rounded characters, how does the film use them as background for Steve's story?
How does the movie use the romance with Lynn as a sign of Steve's maturation?
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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
Cute and Funny, with a lesson
This movie is a simple comedy that delivers without being too corny or over the top. It portray's the mentally challenged as the good guys, and a lot smarter than people think. It was good see that Johnny Knoxville can actually act.
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Teen, 15 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
It was so funny!!!
I loved it! It was so funny i couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard!!!
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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Okay You Have it Wrong...
Now this film does have some of the bad stuff in it... But just because Johnny Knoxville is in it doesn't mean that it can't have heart... This movie isn't meant to make fun of the mentally chalenged, it was meant so we can laugh with them, not at them...
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Adult
May 18, 2010
AGE
Good Message with a Funny Delivery
Knoxville who plays the main character, Steve Barker, a guy who for good reasons; if that's possible fakes being "handicapped" and enters The Special Olympics. He hopes to win the big monetary prize in order to pay off a surgery that he unintentionally caused due to prior circumstances and to help out his addicted uncle who could be killed if he doesn't pay gamblers the money he owes. A funny movie in which every role is intricately played to enhance the movie
Can I have a hug, one of the best lines from the movie. What is meant to be a simple gesture backed by a not so simple motive. This also displays the well thought out script in and behind the acting of the movie. I really think that script was written excellently in every little detail about it from Stavi to Uncle Gary, to Thomas and Glen, every actor perfectly played out and the interaction of the cast as a whole really amplifies the movie. The plot however unrealistic it might be is a great story line that can be spun in any direction and you never know where the movie is going to go, just when you think Steve is going to get caught he doesn't, and instead of turning him in the athletes help him. The special effects and background music, as minute as they are really add oomph. The music that plays in the background fits extremely well with the scenarios they actors find themselves in. It's hard to say that a movie about rigging the Special Olympics is actually a great movie and has a good message behind it but it does. The ringer is a great movie that shows what true friends are for, and how when a group of people pulls together any and everything can be accomplished. Through many funny jokes and one-liners the audience is always engaged and there's never a dull moment when watching.
What other families should know:
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Parent
February 23, 2010
AGE
The Ringer
A good movie. Knoxville played well in his role and acted rather serious then he's normally used too.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 11 years old
September 9, 2009
AGE
older tweens+ funny as sh*t
iffy for 12: CRUDE SEXUAL HUMOR, STRONG LANGUAGE, DRUG REFERENCES AND SMOKING, AND SOME BAD ROLE MODELS
What other families should know:
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Adult
October 26, 2009
AGE
watch it
this movie wasnt as offensive against mentaly chalenge people as i thought it would it is sweat and funny if you havent watch it its youre bad
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Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Hilarious
Amazingly funny... 13 and up
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| Studio: | Fox Searchlight |
| Director: | Barry Blaustein |
| Cast: | Brian Cox, Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 94 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | December 23, 2005 |
| DVD release date: | May 16, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | crude and sexual humor, language and some drug references. |
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