Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"I'm not running anywhere with a toy car shoved up my butt."

2002 R / Stunt Comedy Directed by: Jeff Tremaine Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O

Tagline

Do not attempt this at home

Summary Capsule

Just like Jackass the TV show, only now with more pooping!

Mutant Meter

Movie Store [proceeds go toward monthly MRFH upkeep]

Amazon.com: DVD | Amazon.com: Soundtrack

Clare's Rating: If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.
Clare's Review: If you like Jackass the television series on MTV, you'll like Jackass: The Movie. If you don't like Jackass the television series on MTV, you won't like Jackass: The Movie. If you've never seen Jackass the television series on MTV, I don't know what to tell you.

"Additionally, there are grown men dressed as pandas which may disturb viewers with issues related to man-sized pandas."

Now that we've gotten that obligatorily boring bit of the review out of the way, let me get on to the heart of the matter. I worked really hard for a while to feel guilty about loving Jackass. I'd make up all sorts of explanations for my friends about why I was watching it in some stupid attempt to make it appear more sophisticated an admiration than it is. "I watch it as a sort of sociological observation on the ramifications of suburban living on our nation's youth," was a common excuse. But in the past year or so, I've settled quite happily into the realization that I don't really give a crap what my love of Jackass makes other people think of me. It makes me laugh REALLY HARD every single time I see it and that, in my opinion, supercedes any vain desire I may have to appear more cultured than I actually am.

Jackass: The Movie is an 84-minute R-rated episode of the show without commercials. To me that means it's a sure thing. And when I went to see it this past weekend with a packed to capacity crowd, everyone in attendance seemed to agree with me. I noticed about half way through the movie that I'd been smiling and/or laughing so steadily and for so long that if I wanted to make my face do anything but smile, my cheeks would quiver. So yeah, I'm a married woman in my late 20's who apparently should feel horrifically ashamed of the fact that I find tremendous humor in watching grown men behave like 4th graders. But I don't. And I won't. So there.

I grew up on a farm. In the summer, before we discovered the "joys" of underage drinking, all the kids would basically do whatever we could to entertain ourselves. Sometimes that meant building huge hay bale forts which invariably came with gaps in construction that, if not avoided, would drop you 30 feet down into darkness and certain death by suffocation. Sometimes it meant having epic crab apple battles where the only rules of engagement were that if you hit someone else in the face they were given a free pass to hit you back from a distance of no less than 7 and no more than 8 feet away. One summer we all decided it would be fun to swing from one side of a barn to another from a rope tied to the ceiling. If you didn't let go of the rope at exactly the right spot you had to choose between landing on the spiked conveyer belt that brought the hay into the barn or swinging out the barn window and falling one story below onto a concrete slab covered in cow crap. Sure we ended up with bruises, scrapes and occasional broken bones or concussions, but we also had more fun during those summers than any of us have ever had since. So whenever I hear about how Jackass is responsible for our nation's youth suddenly engaging in dangerous and stupid activities, I just roll my eyes and hope the next episode I watch is the one where Phil challenges Dunn to a foot race in order to get him to fall face first into the giant covered pit that Bam's dug in the back yard.

Yes, Jackass: The Movie is gross. Don't go see it if you have a problem watching other people throw up, crap on themselves, pee or bleed. There's also lots of naked-man ass, lots of swearing and lots of head injuries. So if you feel there is an inherent wrong with any of those things, you may want to avoid seeing this movie. Also, golfers get made fun of which could potentially offend some viewers with more delicate constitutions. And there's skating. Which could cause viewers to become filled with angst. Oh, and there are fat people running which may cause audience members to flinch in horror. Additionally, there are grown men dressed as pandas which may disturb viewers with issues related to man-sized pandas. And Henry Rollins makes an appearance, so viewers with psychologically negative associations with washed-up, former punk singers turned poet/spoken word artists turned TLC game show hosts may want to use caution. In addition, there are a sizable number of Japanese people in the film, so viewers who are still holding a grudge about WWII may be better served to stay home.

I read a review of Jackass: The Movie recently that likened it to being one step above a snuff film and the worst movie of this or any year. So if what I've said here isn't testament enough of how much fun it is, take comfort in knowing that humorless windbags the world over hate this movie with a fiery passion and therefore, it is a masterpiece of untold splendor.

Justin's Rating: Help! Mommy! I'm being influenced!
Justin's Review: There's all sorts of different kinds of laughter. Also, different ways I could diagram that previous sentence. But you know the type of laughter where you feel your blood beginning to pound in your head and you become quite familiar with the color red in your vision? Yeah, Jackass did that to me. It was at the point where one of the kids snuck in this massive alligator into his mom's kitchen, and filmed her resulting (over-)reaction. As she's shrieking and running back and forth — shouting, "IS THAT THING REAL? AHHHHH! IS IT REAL?!?" — I finally was able to sympathize with the female bladder and its weakness to certain forms of laughter. Wow. Stinkin' high-larious!

"I finally was able to sympathize with the female bladder and its weakness to certain forms of laughter."

Unlike Clare, with her Regular Knoxville Addition, I've never seen Jackass on TV, unless you count the fifty bazillion news stories about this show. You know, where there are three highly impressionable kids with little to do and a collective I.Q. of 63, and they decide to "recreate" classic moments from the show, like it was some sort of Civil War Reenactment. Then, one of the kids ends up losing a body part or gets crushed by a car compactor, and who's gonna explain that to mom and dad? I figure that if you're stupid enough to not realize that these are stunt people — perhaps insane, drunken and male out of the wazoo, but stunt people nonetheless — then nature is just itchin' to deselect you out of the order of things.

The movie is not a movie. It's barely coherent if you try to impose some sort of plot or order or reasoning, so I suggest not thinking and just running up to the TV, full tilt, and hitting play. A little battle yell might be in order. Jackass is a collection of stunts and... um... events that will have you swinging to and from the following three emotions: awe, humor, and deep-seated retching. This motley crew of guys go about thinking up new ways to torture themselves, from a "bungie wedgie" to having a small alligator clamp down on their nipples, and we laugh uneasily, hoping that there isn't some sort of Big Brother-type dude just off camera, waving a shotgun at them for encouragement. Although shotguns come into play, as well, as Knoxville takes a riot gun bean bag to the belly in a sequence that's so torturous as to make your stomach cramp up in anticipation.

These guys get hurt so much you'll marvel that half of the film wasn't done in the ICU. Do I feel bad for them? Um, no. Like your nerdy friend who insists on asking the gorgeous A-crowd girl out in front of you, all you can do is settle back, desensitize yourself, and thank every lucky star you have that it's not you.

It is not all just them hurting themselves. Half of the stunts are the gang doing outrageous things in weird venues, like boxing in a department store or dressing up like old men and doing weird crap on scooters. As I said before, the scenes where the one guy is tormenting his parents recalls some of the best stuff from the Tom Green Show, back before I signed a petition to have Green neutered and rendered mute.

Jackass is a film you positively, absolutely must see with a group of people. If you watch it alone, you'll get all paranoid because you'll be the only sane one in the building. You need friends who can laugh and cringe with you, and maybe an extra set of hands to help cover your privates. Yeah, you'll be doing that a lot. Probably the first film that I've simultaneously enjoyed and made me wish I had a barf bag.

Finally, although this is as low-brow humor as it gets, I want to thank the makers of Jackass for messing with golfers. Those people are asking for it!

Kyle's Rating: I know I overuse the word "awesome." But this is AWESOME!!!!
Kyle's Review: I have an iron stomach, so seeing a guy poop in his pants and then somewhere else, and seeing blood and pus and less vomit than I was expecting but vomit nonetheless, didn’t really affect me too much.

"Let me say that paper cuts, sending electrical currents through the scrotum, and being shot with a high-velocity riot control bean bag bullet are high on my list of things that must be avoided."

But there were a few Jackass stunts that made me cringe. I don’t want to give anything away, not that this is an actual ‘movie’ so that ‘spoilers’ would be kind of an oxymoron here (yes, I see the ‘moron’ pun opportunities, but just fill them in yourselves, yeah? I’m pretty tired here), but let me say that paper cuts, sending electrical currents through the scrotum, and being shot with a high-velocity riot control bean bag bullet are high on my list of things that must be avoided. Oh, man.

I was never a huge Jackass fan. It seemed like episodes were only on at certain times and I never knew when they were and it didn’t really matter because it was more fun for friends and me to just say “Hey, this is Kyle and Chris and Steve and Jennifer and Natalie and THIS IS JACKASS!!!!” before we videotaped ourselves jumping off a roof into piles of snow or seeing who could get more air in riding our bikes into curbs and going flying over handlebars. That’s the fun of it all.

I will say that the episodes I did get to see were usually pretty funny. Sometimes in an awful way. As well, whenever they did a “Kenny Rogers’ Jackass” on Mad TV that was hilariously funny, and assuming I’ve got the money I’m totally going to pick up that Jackass DVD box set that’s supposed to be coming out soon. Yeah!

Anyway, this isn’t really a movie. It’s just a continuation of the television show. I think all the money went into music rights and special effects for the opening and closing sequences (not to be missed, by the way), and maybe in medical bills for Johnny Knoxville. The bean bag shooting thing was tough, but fighting Butterbean really ****ed his **** up. All for our entertainment. Thanks, Johnny!

If you can handle occasional barf and feces, and people doing not unspeakable but pretty wild thing to their bodies, you should check out the Jackass movie. It’s short, it’s fun, and like they said up there: watching it at a party or with friends will be an instant bonding experience. Total group fun; you will dig it! I know for a fact that I was missing out for never having seen a guy jump off a trampoline into a swinging bedroom ceiling fan. Oh, man, that’s good stuff!

Drew's Rating: Yeah, um… that's why I only pierced my ears…
Drew's Review: It used to be when you were in the mood for some amazing, death-defying stunts, you'd look no further than your local cinema. Wanted to jump out of a plane or outrun a boulder? Hey, your pals James Bond and Indiana Jones had you covered. But times change, my friends, and the advent of Xtreme sports has led thrillseekers to pursue life-threatening experiences in a much more direct fashion these days. Want to know what falling off a building is like? Strap on a bungee cord or go base jumping. Like the thought of being shot at and stalked through hostile terrain? Sounds like you need a couple rounds of paintball, buddy! Always wanted to pretend you were hanging off a cliff for dear life? Take up rock-climbing and do it for real. Hell, save up enough scratch and NASA will chauffeur you around in that pimpest of rides, the space shuttle… your chariot awaits, Mr. Timberlake.

"God help us, we loved it… turns out there's nothing quite like seeing a fellow human being in intense pain, just so long as they laugh about it and don't actually die."

But in the wake of all this, the inevitable question arises — with us regular folk acting like stuntmen, what can our ever-multiplying media outlets do to shock and entertain us? For that, a young group of moronic geniuses slammed their heads together and came up with the only logical answer: a series of completely illogical, incredibly painful acts of masochism. And God help us, we loved it… turns out there's nothing quite like seeing a fellow human being in intense pain, just so long as they laugh about it and don't actually die.

First came the TV show — I think every fan, diehard or casual, has their own story about losing their Jackass virginity; you walk away thinking My God, I'd heard so much about this, but I… I never imagined it'd be that intense. My own deflowering involved two separate stunts — one an eggnog-chugging contest where 'nog was gulped down and almost immediately spewed back into the cup, repeated ad nauseum (no pun intended); the other featuring heavy objects being dropped onto a guy's jock strap from three stories up. (Hint: sometimes they missed.) And when it was over, my TV held me close and we drifted off to sleep together. It was a magical night.

Ah, but once you've had a successful cult TV show and been blamed by the government for increased teenaged rebellion and foolhardy behavior and testicular dislocation, what is there left to do? Well, I suppose you could take all the leftovers, every crazy idea percolating inside your brain that was too audacious for freakin' MTV, for God's sake, and turn it into a feature film. And bless 'em for it, that's exactly what the Jackass gang did. Not that the show was exactly restrained by comparison, but after watching the movie you'll understand that there are some stunts that just couldn't have been done in a PG-13 environment… I'm betting the yellow snowcone, for example, would've been a mighty hard sell to the network. And yet, it turns into one of the jaw-droppingly funniest sketches (subjective) in a seemingly never-ending mine of comedic gold, not to mix metaphors, so just sit back and count your lucky stars.

So what didn't I like? Well, some of the material is invariably funnier than the rest. That's to be expected in any random hodge-podge of stunts, but you're going to wish they'd been a little more selective about what made the cut for the movie, especially after suffering through crap like party boy Japan or roller disco truck. (And if you don't feel the need to fast-forward through night pandas, you're a stronger person than me.) Also, I know I'm a big wuss, but I just can never watch the paper cuts… gah. And if you're one of those uptight squares who's uncomfortable with the idea of a certain private bodily area featuring in multiple stunts (no, not THAT one…), there's at least two segments you'll want to steer clear of. Don't say you weren't warned.

But all that is small beans when compared to the overwhelming truth — Jackass does what it does incredibly well, and what it does is making people who like low-brow humor laugh. Not just laugh, but cough and sputter and spray carbonated beverages out their noses. Yet aside from being idiotic and infantile (and just really friggin' funny), the film actually does answer an important question: what's a lunatic supposed to do in a world where everyone is crazy? Why, crank the insanity up to 11, natch, and that's just what the Jackass crew has done. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's a darn amusing movie and can double as a litmus test for your friends — if you suggest watching it and they say anything to suggest they're too smart/mature/sophisticated to find humor in such childish drivel, kick 'em in the crotch and run. It's really for the best, and in case they should catch you and return the favor, hey, at least take comfort that they weren't more mature than you after all. You win either way… thanks, Johnny Knoxville!

Wal-Mart's got a sale! Wooo! Wow, he deserves what he has coming to him. The morning commute on the idiot freeway

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Johnny Knoxville has his daughter's name tattooed over his heart (awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!)
• Spike Jones, Tony Hawk, Henry Rollins, Matt Hoffman and Rip Taylor.
• The car that Johnny Knoxville drives in the "rent-a-car crash-up derby" skit has the number three painted on it, an homage to the late Dale Earnhardt.
• Our very own Clare wrote in after reading Justin's review: "This has nothing to do with anything. I was just re-reading your Jackass: The Movie review and noticed the following sentence: '... and we laugh uneasily, hoping that there isn't some sort of Big Brother-type dude just off camera...' I didn't really notice it the first time I read your review, but I'm assuming you don't know that Johnny Knoxville got MTV to give him a show by writing articles for a skating magazine called Big Brother. So there was most surely a Big Brother-type dude just off camera, but not the kind of Big Brother-type you were thinking about. Just made me laugh."

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Definitely. There are a bunch of outtakes, but you absolutely must stay for the best part of the entire film: Son of Jackass. They get all dudded up in their old men outfits and hobble through an industrial area where explosions are going off right and left, slaughtering most of them. Classic.

Groovy Quotes

Knoxville: Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and we're about to test my Rocket Skates.

Dunn: I'm Ryan Dunn, and I'm about to get the s**t kicked out of me by a girl.

Steve-O: Hi, it's cold in Japan, so we're going to warm ourselves up with some fireworks.

Chris Pontius: I guess I don't have any last words. I'm just gonna kill myself once I lose my wiener.

Chris Pontius: Wait a minute. I already know my fortune, it's partying!

Knoxville: I think I'm a little concussed.

Steve-O: You know it's when like your parents said "I'm not mad at you, just disappointed." You know that hurt so much more. [laughs]

Knoxville: Is this the worst time you've ever had to go boom-boom?

Knoxville: Did you see the way I stopped the beanbag with my stomach? That's instinct. You can't teach that.

Chris Pontius: Hi, I'm Bunny the Lifeguard, any of these alligators try to ruin our swimming, I'm gonna wrestle them down, and probably have my way with them.

Steve-O: We wanted to see if you would run!
Ryan Dunn: I'm not running anywhere with a toy car shoved up my butt.

DVD Review

Now that Jackass: The Movie is out on DVD, all those folks too embarrassed and ashamed to head out into public to watch it on the big screen can now go pick it up anonymously at their local video rental establishment and scurry home under cover of night to view this film in the quiet comfort of their own homes. Don't worry, we won't tell your neighbors. The features here are abundant in quantity but somewhat lacking in quality (a relative term in this situation, but you know what I mean). There are two audio commentaries that are worth checking out. The first features director Jeff Tremaine, director of photography Dimitry Elyashkevich and star/producer/writer/etc. Johnny Knoxville. The second is comprised of all the regular cast members basically getting messed up and busting on one another. Then there's "outtakes" and "additional footage" that, while somewhat interesting, didn't make it into the movie for good reason. You'll also find a couple of music videos, cast bios and some other random stuff. I haven't yet dug around for Easter Eggs, but I'm hoping to all things MTV that there are some. Anyway, if you saw it in the theaters and liked it, you'll get a kick out of the DVD. If you were kind of curious about it during its theatrical release but didn't want to admit it to anyone, now's your chance to laugh your ass off. Check it.

Soundtrack Review

The soundtrack has a bunch of soundbites from the movie, the theme song (Corona by The Minute Men), my favorite CKY song "Flesh into Gear" and a classic tune by The Misfits (Glen Danzig, how I love ya). It also comes with a DVD that has music videos for Flesh into Gear and a song by Andrew W.K about, surprisingly, getting drunk and partying. Man, I miss the days when Andrew W. K. sang songs about unrequited love and man's inhumanity toward man.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• The CKY series (CKY, CKY2K, CKY3) (Bam, Dunn, Brandon Dicamillo and Raab Himself as young'ns skating, beating each other up and hurling one another into shrubbery)
• Boob, Crap and Number 2 (Johnny Knoxville only had to get shot and run over by a car before MTV offered him a series.)
• Don't Try This At Home (Steve-O isn't kidding. But then again, most people wouldn't be stupid enough to staple their scrotums to their legs as a career move.)