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.
Image/Sound
Audio and video on this Special Collector’s Edition of Jackass: The Movie is about as good as it gets for something shot on high-fi video verité. Though some scenes actually look and sound worse than anything that has ever played on the MTV show, that’s what you get with a film made on-the-fly by amateurs. Despite some compression artifacts here and there, this TV-grade transfer is perfectly serviceable.
Extras
Fans of the TV show can do themselves a favor and skip the commentary track by director Jeff Tremaine, cinematographer Dimitry Elyashkevich and star Johnny Knoxville and head straight to the second commentary track featuring five members from the film’s cast. Where the first commentary track is overly technical and mundane, the second serves as a lively substitute for the film’s existing dialogue and sound. Seven minutes are wasted on a series of lame outtakes but there are several gems hidden within the 27 minutes of additional footage: if “Sand Vagina” ultimately disappoints, “Pocket Ass Return” and “Poo River Pole Vault” surely won’t. Also included here are two atrocious music videos, nine promo spots, a theatrical trailer, cast and crew biographies, and a photo and poster gallery.
Overall
What with all the vomiting, shitting and rampant homoeroticism, Jackass: The Movie is the closest thing the average Joe has to a prison-life simulation.
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