YMMV / The Ringer

• Audience-Alienating Premise: Being as the Farrelly Brothers and Johnny Knoxville are all people known for pushing limits to dangerously uncomfortable territory, many assumed it would be a movie making fun of people with disabilities. On the contrary, it’s done in a very respectful manner that shows people with disabilities as human beings and gives notable roles to them as well. (Among other things, it's made clear that, disabled or not, the competitors are still athletes, and Steve wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance if they weren't helping him.) The film was made with the full support of Special Olympics and is universally loved by people with disabilities and people who work in that community.
• Crosses the Line Twice: The film's premise alone runs on this trope, what with it involving a man pretend to be mentally challenged for money.
• Cult Classic: Very popular within the Special Olympics and disabled community as a whole.
• Less Disturbing in Context: A movie about a man faking being mentally handicapped for money should be hideous, right? Well, actually, no. The actual mentally-handicapped people don't buy it for a second, they all turn out to be significantly better at their sports than the neurotypical guy, and the only reason he gets anywhere is because the actual disabled people help him (they want him to take out the Jerk Jock they all hate). And he wants the money to help an injured friend of his, not just out of greed.
• Memetic Mutation: The "I can count to potato!" gag is probably one of the more enduring jokes from a film on the internet, largely because it gave rise to the use of "potato" as a slang term, first for mental impairment before eventually being used to denote poor-quality audiovisual recording technology.
• Watched It for the Representation: Very popular among persons with disabilities, and those who work with individuals with disabilities as well. Due not only to having so many characters with disabilities having speaking parts but portraying them as human beings rather than objects of pity.