Looks to me that Wheels was produced in a slightly different way. Last year a movie came out in Germany featuring one of the most famous German actors at the moment, Til Schweiger. It's called Wo ist Fred? (Where is Fred!?). Take a look at the plot summary from the IMDb:
"In order to catch a basketball from the favorite team of his girlfriend's spoiled son, Fred (Schweiger) poses as a numb, wheelchair-bound fan. But when he catches the ball, he also catches the attention of young, attractive filmmaker Denise (Lara), who wants to feature an invalid fan in an image film for the team. Fred has to keep playing his role, while real invalid and really furious fan Ronny (Herbst) might call his bluff at any moment. Worse, still, love sets in..."