The boys were certainly back in town as "Jackass Number Two" stole the box office in its opening weekend. While the classic warning screen prompted the beginning of the film, an extra warning should have been given to moviegoers, telling them that if they weren't fans of the show or the first film, they would certainly not enjoy the second.
Commercials for the movie were virtually unseen on channels beside those affiliated with MTV because the success of the film is completely dependent on "Jackass" fans. Fans clearly showed up in large numbers to see it, giving "Jackass Number Two" an overwhelming No. 1 spot at the box office.
As the opening credits come on, there is a bit of deja vu as the Jackass cast emerges from a cloud of fog, this time running from bulls rather than flying down a street in a giant shopping cart. The bulls chase the boys through a neighborhood and tear through houses in what one can only hope is a set. In a movie that is obviously void of any plot or actual acting, director Jeff Tremaine had a lot of flexibility to do pretty much whatever he wanted.
The boys tossed out some of their signature show skits for a more action-packed movie. Instead of spending time messing with people in the streets of Japan, the Jackass boys spent lots of money building elaborate stunt sets and playing jokes on each other. The best-planned practical joke of the film is definitely Ehren McGhehey's taxi ride. McGhehey planned to dress as a Middle-Eastern man and call a cab to go to the airport in an attempt to scare the driver into thinking he was planning a terrorist attack. Unbeknownst to McGhehey, the hair used to create his beard was pubic hair provided by the entire cast and the taxi cab driver was switched with Jay Chandrasekhar ("Beerfest," "Super Troopers"). After Chandrasekhar pulls a gun on McGhehey and forces him into the trunk of the taxi, Bam Margera finally informs McGhehey that the joke is on him.
The film still contains nudity, but was dulled down compared to the original. The worst scenes include a 400-pound woman jumping on Wee-Man and Steve-O's beer-bong butt-chug. Perpetually tormented parents, April and Phil Margera, only make small appearances in the movie when Ryan Dunn decides to ski down their snow-packed staircase. But this ultimately reveals time discrepancies in the film. Anyone who has kept up with some of the boys on MTV knows that the Margeras moved into a much more substantial house on the show "Viva La Bam." However, the ski scene was clearly filmed in the old Margera home.
Another major aspect of the original show was a series of stunts performed with various dangerous animals and the same theme emerges this time around. In addition to "Wildboyz" Steve-O and Chris Pontius' complete devotion to animals, several scenes in the movie consist of snakes, bulls and sharks. Knoxville, Wee-Man and Dunn round up two anacondas in a kid's ball pit, which leaves Knoxville's arm completely covered in blood after several bites from the monstrous snake. The film also shows the Wildboyz out at sea when Steve-O decides to jam a fishhook through his cheek so Pontius can use him as bait for hammerhead sharks. The scene takes a more serious turn when a mako shark shows up and nearly bites off Steve-O's foot, which quickly convinces the daredevil to cut his stunt short.
While the original movie was created on a $5 million budget, the success enticed MTV to give the boys a bigger bank account. Even these idiots were smart enough to know that more money means more flexibility in spending it. Ideas for stunts were provided by cast members in a variety of ways, including Bam's juvenile drawings of stunts for the other guys to try.
Along with bulls tearing through a dozen houses and cars, money was spent demolishing hotel walls and professionally designing tracks for various slingshots and rocket launching. In addition to usual cameos from Tony Hawk and Matt Hoffman, Three 6 Mafia and Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor spent days with the guys. Taylor watched in disbelief as Wee-Man bungee jumped off the side of a Florida highway, using Preston Lacey as his anchor, before ultimately pulling Lacey off the edge and down into the water with him.
One of the most thrilling aspects of the television show was the fact that the low-budget sets could be re-created by virtually anyone, but in "Jackass Number Two" that original quality is completely lost — though it is refreshing to see that stardom has not gone to everyone's heads.
Knoxville volunteered himself for a majority of the stunts performed in the show, including being tossed around by a bull three times by the end of the movie. Margera, on the other hand, spent more of his time creating stunt ideas for other cast members. By the end of the film, it is hard to think of any memorable act performed by Margera — most of his scenes consist of playing pranks or other people playing practical jokes on him.
The only minor shred of acting that made its way into the movie is a dazzling, choreographed Broadway spectacular. Along with a full cast of professional dancers and singers, the boys manage to learn a few moves and notes before being annihilated in last minute stunts. Chris Pontius' character, "Party Boy," makes his first appearance dancing through the credits along with various outtakes as Bam Margera pleads that a "Jackass 3" not be made. If the movie continues its box office success, one can only hope that the people at MTV will beg them for another.
