With America’s favorite idiot, Adam Sandler, starring in the not-so-wacky dramedy “Punch-Drunk Love,” there was suddenly an opening for dim-witted goof-off movie featuring a buffoon and his posse acting, well, punch drunk. “Jackass: The Movie” fills the void perfectly and delivers outrageous humor, some of which seems too wild even for its always off-the-wall stars.
The movie is basically a 90-minute episode of the raunchy, ridiculous MTV series “Jackass,” which features juvenile joker Johnny Knoxville and his crew of hooligans attempting stunts that 10-year-old boys dream about but which take the nerve and alcohol tolerance only men possess.
Well, maybe their infantile antics don’t really qualify them as men, but their everlasting youth and curiosity is what makes them do what they do — and make it so funny you can’t stop laughing for hours after the credits stop rolling (and you’ll never look at a Matchbox car or a Rascal the same way again).
There’s one glaring difference between the movie and the show, though: It’s not edited for TV, which means f-words, bodily fluids and a whole lotta pasty man-ass. Knoxville and friends definitely take advantage of their R-rating, giving the movie an even higher gross-out, freak-out factor than the show ever could.
But the movie is still just a montage of senseless sketches with no plot (except that the movie takes the boys to Japan, leading to much satirizing of stereotypes and snorting of wasabi). Nor is there a real explanation for what makes these guys participate in such spectacular acts as “Alligator Tight-Rope” and “Off-Road Tattooing” except the thrill of getting more hardcore — and maybe the intoxication provided by Miller High Life.
“Jackass” was born when Knoxville wanted to turn his practical jokes into a career and, with the help of Big Brother magazine’s Jeff Tremaine, released a series of videos made modestly with hand-held (and hidden) cameras. Soon, Knoxville, Tremaine, and vanguard video director Spike Jonze accumulated a crew of loopy lackeys to create the MTV series: pro-skater Bam Margera, ex-circus clown Steve-o, perpetually thonged Chris “Party Boy” Pontius and, among others, the obligatory midget and fat man.
While Steve-o and Pontius tend to be the boldest and most willing to show the most skin, Knoxville does not let his increasing fame deter him from playing along, too. In fact, he instigates some of the film’s most gut-wrenching skits — he rides on “rocket skates,” endures 20 intentional paper cuts and makes the movie’s only unintentional visit to the hospital.
The movie has its share of gutsy guest stars and icons of the alternative world, including Jonze, Tony Hawk, Henry Rollins, and Margera’s tolerant mom and dad, who make Tom Green’s parents look like amateurs. They help the guys go for the jugular in this cinematic attempt — literally, in some cases. But the cool thing about it is they’d probably do it anyway.
Their growing popularity (and their growing shortage of brain cells) just makes them more extreme, staging stunts the audience craves but would never have the balls to do. One thing is for sure, though: after all the danger the guys have subjected their bodies and balls to, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to have children.
So, ladies, even though those dangerous, dopey darlings Johnny, Steve-o, and Bam may have your hearts racing, they’re more interested in making their own adrenaline pump and watching things explode. Anyway, would you really want your child’s father to shoot firecrackers out of his ass?
Just a note: watch the credits, because the guys apparently spent their entire budget on the closing sequence. It’s bad-ass. It’s “Jackass.”
Grade: A/B
