Short Bus Kids Make Good

Rating: 5/10 (4 January 2006)

I guess the appeal of THE RINGER is that we get to see Johnny Knoxville try to act two parts; his character, and his character acting mentally challenged. It's been said that when an actor can come off like he's acting as another character within the same story, it's the truest sign of dramatic skill. Knoxville pulls it off for the most part, but his base character is so dull and lifeless that his alter ego, Jeffey Dahmor, a mentally challenged adult who's decided to try and best the current champion at the special Olympics, really doesn't seem like much of a departure.
His motives are noble; scam a local gambling ring to vote for the champ, and try at all costs to win the gold, all so he can help out a friend who needs medical attention. Not life threatening mind you; if the poor guy had a brain tumor or AIDS, God knows what Knoxville would be up to. So I was intrigued by the situation at hand, and wondered how they might pull off such a funny idea, when it's really not funny to laugh at "special" people.
Of course the comedy is there, but it's flaccid for the most part. As it turns out, the hero's are definitely the mentally challenged, and their abuse of Knoxville is the punchline. So instead of picking on the underdogs, we get water fights and athletic slapstick, in addition to sophomoric situations involving Knoxville's guilt over the deception at hand, and a love interest and her cheating boyfriend.
All in all it's a movie best viewed half drunk on late night cable. That or a free DVD on Pizza Night. Either way, I hope Knoxville makes another film with John Waters. They seem to work well together. I loved a Dirty Shame.