Comedy on the edge

Johnny Knoxville, "The Ringer"

As squirm-inducing comedy premises go, it’s hard to top this one: a luckless drone (Knoxville) pretends to be mentally disabled so he can rig the Special Olympics, all to pay for a Latin American laborer’s finger re-attachment surgery. And yet the movie offsets the outrageousness by utilizing actual disabled actors in key supporting roles. It’s nice to see a group so commonly shunned by casting directors pull off some tart zingers. 

Does he go too far?: When Knoxville’s character does “research” by watching “Forrest Gump” it raises the question of whether a comedic performance is any more offensive than similar efforts from dramatic actors hoping to jerk tears by playing mentally challenged heroes.