Feature Review | Jackass: The Movie
Written by: Brian Orndorf

I’m not even going to sit here and write any kind of review to sway the public on “Jackass: The Movie.” There’s no point. Either you know the antics of this crass, punch-drunk MTV crew, or you don’t. I can’t possibly suggest that this might be the loosest, funniest film of the year. I couldn’t have the nerve to propose that even in its smutty, shiftless heart, there is a desire to entertain unlike anything around currently in theaters. And you won’t catch me saying that “Jackass” is the ultimate experience begging for a full crowd on a weekend night. Nope. Not me. Ok, maybe me…

“Jackass: The Movie” picks up exactly where “Jackass: The MTV Show” left off: detailing the pranks, stunts, and general antics of ringleader Johnny Knoxville (“Men In Black 2,” “Big Trouble”) and his band of morons including “Party Boy” Chris Pontius, daredevil Steve-O, little person Jason “Wee Man” Acuna, skateboard whiz Bam Margera, lackeys Ryan Dunn, Dave England and Ehren McGhehey, and big guy Preston Lacey. “The Movie” is basically a chance for these maniacs to go a little more hardcore with their usual stunts, which have previously been censored by MTV. This means plenty of male nudity, vomit, feces, urine, blood, and tears that they couldn’t get away with before. It’s also a chance to see “Jackass” with a crowd that is ready for some bawdy fun, and even better, those who have no idea what they’ve walked into.

“Jackass” certainly starts out harmless enough. We see Knoxville innocently rent a car for the evening, only to take it to a nearby demolition derby, and the car gets ripped apart piece by piece. But “little” pranks like this soon give way to the boys lighting fireworks off their genitalia, using store display toilets to serve their call to nature, getting shot in the gut by riot control shotguns, snorting wasabi, eating “special” snow cones (remember being told as a child to stay away from the yellow snow?), and generally messing around with assorted alligators. They don’t leave the fans hanging either, as Pontius’s “Party Boy” persona invades Japan, Steve-O is again the central figure in unceasing stupidity, and Bam Margera continues his lifelong mission to disrupt his parents’ lives as much as possible.

Undeniably, this is terribly crude material, and could very well signal the end of humanity as we know it. But it’s funny, in that classic “watch man fall down and go boom” way that’s been apart of cinema ever since Laurel met Hardy. You want substance? That’s what art-houses are for. “Jackass” is just a rollicking good time for those prepared for what they are about to embark on. Besides, tell me Johnny Knoxville lighting his bottle-rocket-infused roller blades for the ride of his life isn’t funny?

Grades:

For fans and adventurers 9 out of 10     

For the rest of you  0 out of 10 

COMMENTS
Date/Time of Posting:  Dec 17 2002 / 14:48:40
IP Address:  24.217.211.109
name = Samantha Phillips
Email = Darknessqueen2001@yahoo.com
comments = JACKASS THE MOVIE WAS HELLA FUNNY BUT HELLA DANGERIOUS PLEASE FOR YOUR SAFETY DO NOT REPEAT WHAT IS ON THAT MOVIE. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN JACKASS THE MOVIE UR A JACKASS TO NOT SEEING THE MOVIE! SO GO SEE IT! IT'S HELLA WILD!