Jackass: the Movie

Based on Jackass, the one-time MTV show that followed the same format, the movie is simply a collection of vignettes and stunts all caught on film by a shaky, grainy and amateurish camcorder. Taking gross-out humor to level of Tom Green and beyond, the boys do stuff like electrocute their testicles, feed sharks fish out of the front of their underwear and walk a tight rope over a tank of alligators wearing only a pair of underwear with raw chicken shoved in them.

Jackass is the brainchild of Johnny Knoxville (Men in Black II), Jeff Tremaine and Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze. The concept has evolved over the last few years from underground skateboarding videos where skaters would not only show off their moves, they'd try and punish one another in the process all in the name of a good time. Poor Steve-O is the guy that takes the brunt of it. A former circus performer, he's the one that gets a tattoo while sitting in the back of a Hummer being driven recklessly through the desert by heavy metal rocker Henry Rollins. But Steve-O's goal in life is to make people laugh. Either that or he's a little sick in the head. My guess is it's a combination of the two. Why else would he get a tattoo of himself with a dorky smile covering his entire back?

The best moments in Jackass are not necessarily the grossest stunts, but the more low-key ones such as Bam Margera trying to get his mom to say the F-word on camera by sneaking a live alligator into her kitchen. It's still a little crazy, but nobody's life is on the line and the goal is to get a genuine reaction rather than just to goof off. Also fun is Knoxville, Jonze, et al. dressing up as old men and zooming around the city in their motorized scooters and hitting on other seniors. There are times though where some of the stunts fall flat, or Party Boy's impromptu stripping becomes irritating.

I admit I had no initial desire to see Jackass, but after watching more and more of the previews I became intrigued. I still cringed at the thought of watching it with nightmares of Tom Green's Freddy Got Fingered still fresh in my head. Curiosity got the best of me and I found myself in the theater ready for anything. So with no expectations, it was nice to sit back and laugh for nearly 90 minutes not having to worry about anything else other than what was on the screen. There is no story, no acting to dissect - just stunts and laughs. Some are going to like it, others aren't. That's the nature of this beast.

The most interesting thing to consider about Jackass is to why it even got made. I'm not interested in how much money it's on track to make or any legal hagglings involved, but where the interest and idea came from. Sadly, it's a product of suburban boredom. The "actors" appear to all have come from typical middle-class homes. One day, in between skateboarding and hanging out, they decided to try something different to entertain themselves. The result is a TV show turned movie where they're often putting their health on the line. And hear I am writing about how I laughed hard and often. Should I feel guilty? No. It was put on the screen to be consumed and I wouldn't want poor Steve-O to risk his family jewels for nothing. The tricky and more personal part is figure out why I'm laughing and judging by the big crowds, I'm not alone.

©Movie Views; November 21, 2002