Fake cripple fight!!!!

In 2004, South Park did an episode called “Up The Down Steroid” about the Special Olympics. One of the two plotlines involved Cartman faking a mental handicap so that he could compete in the Special Olympics and win $1000 since he easily beat the retarded kids. However, he learns that the Special Olympians are great athletes and he’s a fat kid who is terrible at sports.

Today, the movie “The Ringer” (see trailer) opens with the exact same plotline. However, it’s a live action movie that has taken seven years to go from development to movie, while South Park infamously completes its episodes in a week. So who has wronged who?

Find out in Entertainment Weekly Feature: Did ”Ringer” rip off ”South Park” — or vice versa?

I haven’t seen “The Ringer” yet, but I want to. Producers the Farrelly brothers (“Dumb and Dumber”, “There’s Something About Mary”) often feature the mentally disabled and treat the subject with depth while still having a good time. Plus, the movie has gotten a big thumbs up from the Special Olympics organization.