Movie - "the Ringer;

[AlohaDawg]

Anyone else heard of this movie? Sounds interesting...check out the message board at Fox Searchlight as well...

This is a line I would not have crossed, but with the backing of Special Olympics....well, it's interesting. Check it out at

The Ringer

[robot_roll_call]

Looks terrible. Plus it's a ripoff of a South Park episode from 2 years ago.

[AlohaDawg]

According to the message board for the movie, the people who came up with this movie pitched it to south park 6 years ago and they passed - when the movie went into production Parker/Stone made the idea into an episode.

Not that that makes it acceptable or anything.

[jough]

Yeah, I heard about this one ages ago.  I understand they're using real mongoloids in the movie, and it's nice that they can employ some of the usually unemployable.

Plus, how much fun will it be to wait until the end credits to see:

NO RETARDS WERE INJURED IN THE MAKING OF THIS FILM

RETARD HANDLING SUPERVISED BY THE AMERICAN RETARD ASSOCIATION

I also think it's really cool of Burger King to offer a special new retard kids meal, which contains neither any food nor a toy, but just a box wrapped in shiny paper.

[AugustWest]

I was all ready to get into a big debate about the appropriateness of Jough's post, but you know what arguing on the internet is like.

[AlohaDawg]

Also, I've come to the conclusion that there is a difference between putting it out there and really believing it.

So everyone out there fixing to get pissed: best just standing down on this one, I think, because I doubt it's going to get anyone who is 'on the fence' about the issue to fall on the side hideous discrimination against people with disabilities and actually, it's unlikely Jough really feels this way anyhow.

Although I bet he does love to start fights and stand back.

 :twisted: Are you the devil, Jough?  Are you?  :twisted:

[V-Adore]

I sort of just autofile anything involving the word "mongoloid" these days into the "not serious or, if serious, not worth my time and/or someone who fell through a time portal and is mystified by the strane esoterica of 21st-century America" file, honestly. Unless, I dunno, you're discussing the problems of developmental disability in historical Central Asia.

[jough]

Yeah, I was trolling a bit for PC complainers.  Plus, I think the abstract idea of "retards" is funny.  In the specific, dealing with actual children who have mental disabilities, Downs Syndrome, etc., well, not so much.

I've heard that The Ringer only really makes fun of Johnny Knoxville's character, and doesn't poke fun at the other Special Olympic contenders, which makes me question how funny the movie will actually be.

But yeah, that South Park episode was hilarious.

[V-Adore]

I've heard that The Ringer only really makes fun of Johnny Knoxville's character, and doesn't poke fun at the other Special Olympic contenders, which makes me question how funny the movie will actually be.

Yeah, I question how much actual humor you can wring (npi) out of that premise. I mean, okay, so the guy goes in thinking it's going to be easy, but it turns out that Special Olympics competitors are actually pretty competitive and high-performing, so the guy loses, and... yeah, that's the joke? Pretty thin gruel for anything longer than a sitcom episode, honestly.

[AugustWest]

I hired a Staff Attorney once who had CP.  He was a nice guy, a pretty mediocre lawyer, but a decent enough sort of fellow.  I had a colleague who acted as Hearing Officer in one of his cases once.  Henceforth he always called my employee "Jimmy!".