Review: Jackass: The Movie

Let’s face it: it takes major cojones to stick a firecracker in your ass and take a dump in a hardware store’s display toilet.

Jackass: The Movie
Photo: Paramount Pictures

Let’s face it: it takes major cojones to stick a firecracker in your ass and take a dump in a hardware store’s display toilet. With the possible exception of the funny opening sequence set to “Carmina Burana,” there’s no real cinematic flavor to Jackass: The Movie though there is some insight buried beneath the non-stop buffoonery. Not only does a paper cut scenario prove to be one of the film’s more squeamish moments but Steve-O’s refusal to stick a toy car into his anus suggests that there is a point where his otherwise understanding parents will be disappointed by his actions. Johnny Knoxville is more likely to make the cover of GQ than Tom Green but I still prefer the latter’s poker-faced ability to test the patience of everyone around him. As such, the best sequences here are those shot in Japan or those that specifically observe how people react to Jackass behavior. (It’s during these moments that Spike Jonze’s hands are most evident.) Everything else, though, has been seemingly thrown onto the screen with the hope that the audience will lose its lunch. For fans of MTV’s now defunct Jackass series, the best thing that can be said about Jackass: The Movie is that it offers more of the same but with an NC-17 twist. The more discriminating fan, though, may just toss aside this 82-minute ball-buster as three “Jackass” episodes shamelessly pieced together by Paramount and MTV in an attempt to make a few bucks from Knoxville’s last hoorah. While it’s mildly amusing at times, Jackass: The Movie grows progressively more tiresome as it moves along.

Score: 
 Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Dave England, Ryan Dunn, Jason "Wee Man" Acuña, Henry Rollins, Spike Jonze, Tony Hawk  Director: Jeff Tremaine  Screenwriter: Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze, Jeff Tremaine  Distributor: Paramount Pictures  Running Time: 84 min  Rating: R  Year: 2002  Buy: Video, Soundtrack

Ed Gonzalez

Ed Gonzalez is the co-founder of Slant Magazine. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, his writing has appeared in The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

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