TNMC

This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Another Ring

Even though we are a little late, we'll run after the days we've missed. So expect, perhaps one or two days with double script reviews. If you missed it, click here to read my review of Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back.

Script Review of The Ringer

"Hollyfeld, here, coming at you with a review of an early draft of The Ringer, a comedy set to star Jackass's Johnny Knoxville. Again, because I am reviewing an early draft, I can say very little about the future of the film. I can, however, state with a certain degree of confidence that it is on the right track.

Johnny Knoxville will star as Steve Barker, a regular nine-to-fiver who, in the film's first 5-10 minutes, suddenly finds himself responsible for paying the medical bills for a sweet old man whom he has inadvertently disfigured. Meanwhile, his cousin Gary is in trouble, owing quite a bit of money to some very dangerous bookies. In a desperate attempt to alleviate their financial problems, the two concoct a scheme - to rig the Special Olympics by placing Steve in as 'The Ringer.'

The concept for the film is half-sacrilege and half-genius (my brother came up with a similar concept a few years ago, I add anecdotally), and the resulting film will no doubt walk a thin line between hilarity and blatant cruelty. Expect protests. But judging from this draft, any controversy will be entirely unnecessary. Somewhat surprisingly, The Ringer treats its mentally challenged subjects with much more respect than its so-called 'hero.' Steve and Gary may think that they have an advantage simply by showing up, but they have no idea that Steve will be drastically out-classed by his competitors who, despite their handicaps, are truly Olympic-class athletes. There are also more than a few reasonable jibes at Hollywood's more stereotypical and even offensive portrayals of the mentally challenged, including diatribes from the mentally handicapped athletes about how they only act like The Other Sister when they want something (like copping a feel, for example.)

I found myself comparing The Ringer to John Carpenter's Big Trouble In Little China, in which a stereotypical (i.e. 'white') action hero finds himself amidst traditional (i.e. potentially offensive) Asian action characters/motifs, and is completely outclassed to the point of ridiculousness. Although Steve agrees to be a ringer under extreme duress and feels bad about it from the beginning, he still thinks he's being unfair to his competitors simply by showing up - by the end of the film, of course, he learns a valuable lesson (did you honestly think he wouldn't?), but the manner in which he is forced to learn is generally tastefully handled, if not always very funny.

This particular draft for The Ringer is not hilarious, although I have a friend who assures that at least one subsequent draft genuinely is. Elements of the storyline are usually very funny, but aren't always handled as such. A cameo from a famous mentally challenged character from recent years (whom I will refrain from naming, in case it makes it into the final product), is rather ingenious, but aside from a few funny scenes, doesn't get a lot to do. The 'villain' of the piece, a selfish though extraordinarily talented competitor named Jimmy, is also underdeveloped - one feels that there are many more humorous situations which could come out of his character, that simply don't. Often, one gets the impression that each situation could simply go further with its concept - some of the situations feel held back, when in recent years we have grown accustomed to films in this vein 'going all the way,' so to speak.

So aside from some of its characters, ideas, and the overall handling of the subject matter, this draft of The Ringer is not particularly fantastic. which is why, for once, I am very happy that I am reading an early draft. All of the minor (really, they are) problems could very easily be fixed by the final draft, and the finished product could very well be unabashedly hilarious. And with the fearless Johnny Knoxville in the lead, we can be sure to expect a bit more craziness than the typical 'rigging the Special Olympics' genre outing. Though unimpressed with this draft, I remain confident that The Ringer will end up being a film worth seeing, and perhaps even (dare I say it?), unoffensive."

(Review submitted by 'Hollyfeld.')

Stay tuned...

That's all folks...

Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)

Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org

SEND ME A SCOOP!!

Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.