Synopsis

After losing his job and facing a costly personal crisis, Steve Barker agrees to an unusual scheme proposed by his debt-ridden uncle: pretend to have an intellectual disability and enter the Special Olympics to manipulate a gambling bet. As Steve trains alongside genuine athletes, his cynical plan gives way to friendship, personal responsibility, and a difficult choice at the finish line.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film took approximately seven years to reach production because of the sensitivity surrounding its subject.

• Special Olympics supported the project and cooperated with the filmmakers. More than 150 Special Olympics athletes were involved in the production.

• The filmmakers researched the movement by attending the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Anchorage, Alaska.

• Several performers with intellectual disabilities were cast as athletes. Leonard Flowers, who played Jimmy Washington, was a real Special Olympian.

• Edward Barbanell, who played Billy B'Devore, became close friends with Johnny Knoxville during filming and later appeared in credits and outtakes connected with the Jackass films.

• The film was shot in and around Austin and San Marcos, Texas. Bobcat Stadium and the Texas School for the Deaf were among the locations used.

• The line "When the fuck did we get ice cream?" was reportedly improvised. Knoxville's reaction in the scene captures his struggle not to laugh.

• Professional wrestling figures Terry Funk and Jesse Ventura appear in brief roles. Their involvement grew out of Barry Blaustein's earlier work with them on the wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat.

• The movie was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures on December 23, 2005, and earned approximately $40.4 million worldwide against a reported $20 million budget.

• The end-credits sequence features the Kids of Widney High, a Los Angeles music group composed of students with developmental disabilities.