Disgusting, ridiculous, stupid, over-the-top, outrageous, moronic, hilarious, and incredibly dangerous. All of these words easily describe the stunts that the Jackass gang do on a regular basis. They are one of the originators (if not the originators), of the stupid and dangerous stunt genre, if there is such a thing. At least, there have certainly been a lot of copycats over the years (and countless spin-offs), so is the formula stale?
In short, no. I may not be a ravenous fan of the show, it's spin-offs, or the movie adaptations, but I definitely enjoyed myself. And honestly, was I left with any gaping plot-holes because I never saw the second movie? Probably not. It doesn't take much to be entertained by Johnny Knoxville and his crew's particular brand of lunacy.
It all seems so incredibly stupid. There isn't a story or anything to really tie together the stunts throughout the movie. It is just like the show; brief intro and it's straight into the stunt, then cut to the next one. Often throughout the movie I'd begin laughing uncontrollably, and despite mentally yelling to stop could not force myself to obey. Just when I would get over the main premise of the bit, they'd introduce some new element that made it all the more ridiculous.
I remember when the first movie came out, and the poster had the entire cast in a gigantic shopping cart -- one of their signature gags involving them barreling toward curbs in grocery store parking lots. It gave you the sense of scale, and made you assume that everything in the movie would be taken to the next level and their budget for skits would be through the roof. While that isn't true of every stunt in this movie, they've definitely benefited from their successful past endeavors. I don't think MTV would have let them play around with a jet engine, or yank a tooth out with a Lamborghini, back when they started 10 years ago. But they don't take it to any crazy extremes.
In a lot of ways, that sort of defines this movie. It most certainly isn't on the scale that they started out at, but it is a coming down of sorts from their previous highs. It manages to wrap up the entire phenomenon in a startlingly meaningful way. This gang of nitwits started out in grocery store parking lots, rose to epic proportions, and now they've leveled out a bit as they wrap things up. At least that's what it feels like to me; a nostalgic trip and a farewell of sorts.
The end credits convey that perfectly by playing old clips of each of the cast members and showing their childhood photos. It's actually pretty touching, and makes it feel like you've watched this group of friends grow-up together. To me, pulling that off after 80 or so minutes of crotch abuse, fecal antics, hidden camera pranks, and slow-motion punches to the face, might just be the greatest achievement in cinematic history. So, if you can put your snobby movie tastes aside for a night, and have the stomach to witness plenty of gross things, Jackass 3D is a thoroughly enjoyable ride that I would recommend everyone take.
Score: 5 out of 5
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2 comments:
A farewell? Uh apparently you haven't heard the cast talk about how they'd love to keep making Jackass movies for as long as they can, especially Knoxville who wishes to make them as much as possible. They certainly have in no way shape or form hinted that this would be the last of them. Hell, they still have Jackass 3.5 coming out because they once again shot two movies worth of material for this movie.
Ah. Like I said in the review, I'm not well-versed in all things Jackass. The ending really felt like a farewell, and I think it would have made a perfect ending if they had called it quits after this movie. Oh well, thanks for the info.
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