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"Jackass" provides more hoaxes, injuries
By John Behling
Published:
Monday, November 4, 2002
John Behling -- Movie Critic
"Jackass: The Movie." I know what you're thinking- how could anyone possibly write a full length movie review on "Jackass: The Movie?"
Really, what is there to say about this movie? Well, that depends. "Jackass: The Movie" is the full-length, unedited and uncut version of the popular MTV show. It features people hurting themselves in stupid and crude ways, expensive and sometimes elaborate hoaxes and more people hurting themselves in stupid and crude ways.
I thought it was hilarious. The movie shows what the cast can do with a Hollywood budget and an R-rating. The results vary from a hilarious sketch involving completely totaling a rental car to the self explanatory "bungee wedgie."
No matter how bad and tasteless these sketches get, they still provoke laughs, thereby accomplishing the film's sole motive. One of the hidden talents of this film, however, isn't in the simple concept of hurting yourself to get attention.
As the show's famous spokesperson Johnny Knoxville explained, it's not that they do stunts and constantly fail and hurt themselves, they know that they aren't going to succeed and it's the attitude towards this sudden doom that gives the show its charm. This point is evident in the film.
One particular scene I thought had the most lasting appeal is one where Knoxville is preparing himself to be shot in the abdomen with a riot bean bag. The look on his face as he walks out onto the shooting range is absolutely priceless. Being a veteran of the series, I found it more satisfying to look for these kinds of moments.
During a later scene, Ryan Dunn undertakes a dangerous, painful and utterly stupid task that even "Jackass" poster child Steve-o turned down. He does this with the equally priceless look of a man confronting a daunting but necessary evil.
On a darker level, their reactions to this form of paid masochism almost makes you re-evaluate your purchase, wondering if your $7 should really go towards supporting people who hurt themselves for a living.
Or, it is entirely possible to take "Jackass" sketch by sketch and not to take either of these two points to heart?
"Jackass" is about making you laugh without the conventions of plot, acting, or anything else that would make it a recognizable Hollywood film. In this way it is unique. Because it is so much like it's series, however, this film is really only for people who enjoy the series.
If this brand of humor doesn't suit your tastes, then "Jackass" is not the movie for you.
