The Ringer (2005)
Supporting Actors with a Disability: Leonard Flowers, Eddie Barbanell, John Taylor, and Nicole Bradley
Other Actors with Disabilities: 150 Special Olympians
Short Description
Desperate for cash, a man without an intellectual disability enters a Special Olympics event in the hopes of rigging the result.
Main Cast:
Johnny Knoxville – Steve Barker
Eddie Barbanell – Billy DeVore
Leonard Flowers – Jimmy
John Taylor – Rudy
Janna Ambord – Karen
Nicole Bradley – Yolie
Bill Chott – Thomas
Katherine Heigl – Lynn
Brian Cox – Gary
Jed Rees – Glen
Zen Gesner – David Patrick
Director: Barry W. Blaustein
Writer: Ricky Blitt
Producers: Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Bradley Thomas
Official Movie Website
Special Olympics article on the making of the movie
At the Competition
Long Description
Desperate for cash to help a friend in need and pay off his smarmy uncle’s gambling debts, Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) sinks to an all time low…he attempts to fix the Special Olympics by pretending to be a person with intellectual disabilities in order to win a bet. But he is completely out-classed by his fellow Olympians, who are not only superior athletes, they’re also wiser in the ways of the world.
Several of his fellow competitors immediately spot Steve as a fraud, but because they too would like to see the fall of Jimmy (Leonard Flowers), the cocky reigning champion, they join forces to help THE RINGER win. With a work-out regime uniquely their own, they train Steve to become a better athlete and, most importantly, a better man.
There is excellent acting by the athletes with intellectual disabilities. Plus a slew of extras drawn from the ranks of Texas Special Olympians. The characters with intellectual disabilities are the good guys and treated with respect. The awakening of Steve’s sensibilities is the main theme of the movie.