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DokBrowne [ 8.0 ]
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The primitive jubilance of witnessing backyard stunts, shocking dares and people eating shit during wipe-outs, elevated to a cinematic art via "Jackass" pageantry: boundless enthusiasm, charming self-deprecation, unapologetic juvenilia and a communal spirit that glows between their intrepid team-work (and subsequent hysterics after every bit) and radiates out into the theater or group setting that you're ideally watching this movie within as well, as we all laugh, shout and wince together in the audience through a gauntlet of insane and imaginatively conceived real-life extreme slapstick.
There's nothing in filmdom out there that's like "Jackass" - maybe now on YouTube and elsewhere, doing harmful things to yourself for attention is more commonplace, but these guys popularized it for the modern era and are still the only ones committed to stunt comedy as a viable movie genre. This is as euphoric in its own way as the best action sequences in the "John Wick" series, or Tom Cruise attempting suicide over and over in "Mission Impossible"s, only it's a like a traveling circus of gnarled, aging, happy-go-lucky freaks who are willing to pummel their bodies every which way in exaggerated tribute to the timeless act of goofing off with your friends.
Not many franchises can sustain themselves for 20 years, but by virtue of taking a long break since the last one and the relative simplicity of what they're trying to accomplish (kind of inspirational in that sense), "Jackass", unlike most of its flying, sliding, snake-smooching, literal ball-busting participants, hits the bullseye yet again. Some scenes are so crass that they can't elicit much more than a head-shake and a smile (like the opening "Godzilla" rampage), but there is so much to choose from across its 90 minutes that you can't credibly complain about the weaker segments. I saw this in a packed theater on opening night, as I hope to experience any future "Jackass" films, and the crowd energy it instinctively generates is pretty special.
Johnny Knoxville is a great ringleader and he still looks damn good considering how much he's put himself through over the years. He could've been a hell of a leading man if Hollywood had ever figured out what to do with him. The crew around him in this are damn heroes for what they go through (while Chris Pontius is adorable being wacky over in the margins most of the time). The award for bravery this time might go to Ehren McGhehey, whose suffering (the bear, the cup...my god, the pogo stick) just barely edges out Steve-O's (the bees, the skateboard guillotine) in quantity and memorability, although Knoxville himself goes out on a high note in this movie with a horrifying re-creation of his bull stunt. It's hard to believe he didn't break his neck and die during production. He and Tom Cruise are just asking for it these days.
Anyway in case I didn't mention that this is hilarious, it is. Not for everyone, I suppose, but I'm a guy and physical comedy is undeniable to me. But also they make these films with irresistible glee and love. Long live "Jackass"!
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.9 |
| No. Ratings | : 1 | |
| No. Reviews | : 1 | |
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