Light-hearted diversion with a message

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2006)

Freddy doesn't get fingered in this outing, but Brian Cox (the original Hannibal Lecter) does offer to schtup his nephew Johnny Knoxville. Thankfully, Knowville doesn't take him up on his offer. Though this could have been an exercise in very bad taste, it is, in fact, a pretty amiable comedy that fights hard to remind us that the disabled have a good sense of humor, too, even about themselves. After his gardener has his fingers lopped off on the job, Knoxville is handed a $28,000 bill to have them re-attached. He can't pay, so while the severed digits sit on ice, our "hero" puts on a "retard" act and enters the Special Olympics. Although the Farrelly brothers produced this thing, it is definitely Farrelly Lite. There are a couple of pratfalls, some roughhousing, and a romantic subplot involving a real cutie (Katherine Heigl), but the film is enjoyable as a light-hearted diversion with a message.