As a critic, whenever I watch a movie, I try to find the little special moments that I would write about in a review whether or not I’m actually doing a review of the film. I also always try to figure out how many stars to award the picture after I finish it. But there are films that are challenging to talk about, and even more challenging to rate. Jackass is one of those films.
Obviously, it would be unfair of me to judge Jackass in the way that I would a Scorsese or a Kubrick flick because not only would that be an unfair assessment, it would put the raunchy film at an extreme disadvantage, and would inaccurately depict the enjoyment the film brought me.
I honestly did enjoy this movie.
It succeeds as a stupid comedy. It’s not like Airplane!, Caddyshack, or The Naked Gun, which are other pictures moviegoers tend to associate with stupidity. There isn’t a plot to dislike, nor is there any acting to criticize. This is a case where I must judge the film based purely on what it is set out to be - an hour and a half of guys harming each other to amuse not only their audience, but themselves.
The film is a collection of stunts performed by the Jackass gang consisting of Johnny Knoxville, Jason “Wee-Man” Acuña, Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, and disturbingly, many others. Their antics range from sneaking up and shaving each other’s heads and the self-explanatory “Bungee-Wedgie” to defecating inside one of a hardware store’s display toilets.
This infantile group gained popularity through their television show on MTV, and their transition to the big screen doesn’t mess with their established formula for success.
I found myself laughing at moments in this film that if I saw occur in front of me, would meet several different reactions. But that may be why so many people enjoyed watching Jackass even if it is not the typical movie-watching experience. Its contents are so absurd that they force their audience to act in either of two ways: extreme discomfort or uncontrollable laughter. It is almost impressive how well these guys withstand pain. Perhaps for them, laughter is the best medicine.
At it’s best, Jackass is gut-wrenchingly funny. Unfortunately at its worse, it is painful to watch. It is repulsive, insulting, nauseating, and just plain disgusting. In one of the movie’s most revolting scenes, a sequence entitled “Yellow Snow Cone,” one of the guys, as the name suggests, urinates into the snow, and eats it. It gets worse when he sticks his finger down his throat, throws up into the snow this time, and eats that. I cannot remember ever being as disgusted by a movie than I was at this scene. It is a shame that Knoxville and his friends couldn’t stray away from the repulsive, and stick with the hysterical.
It is difficult to recommend this movie, and yet it is just as difficult to not recommend it. But this is one of the rare occurrences when the viewer knows beforehand whether or not they would enjoy the film, so I would base my decision purely on my own instinct.
