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Warning: Don't do any of these stunts!
Jackass the Movie
Review by Ross Anthony

A preface: It's probably obvious that this is not your normal movie. The title should alert one to that. If you want plot, character development, etc. see "Red Dragon" or "White Oleander" (both of which I enjoyed); here you'll only find character destruction and the kind of plot that awaits one of Johnny Knoxville's stunts to go fatally wrong. So if that's what you expect -- reckless abandon -- the craziest childhood daredevil stunts bruising the much less rubbery bones of grown ups -- you'll have a great time.

What follows is the list of demented stunts. Almost all are very funny, some are too gross to watch, and a small minority are simply uninteresting. But all are rather brief. There's none of that hokie game-show artificial build up. Most Jackass the Movieoften, an opening establishing shot, two seconds for anticipation and bam some idiot catapults his body into harm's way.

  1. Giant shopping cart of idiots coasting across a bridge through smoke and projectiles trips its cargo into a fruit stand.
  2. Johnny rents a car, "We'll take good care of her." He drives off to "Rentacar Smash Up Derby." He tows the car back to the rental office and the clerks ask, "Who's car is this?" Johnny, "This is your guys' car... I had accident, I hit a dog, when I drink I just black out... but don't get upset ...it's got a full tank of gas."
  3. Skateboard down a bowling alley into the pins.
  4. Muscle stimulator to parts of the body that don't even have muscle. Yikes!
  5. Golf Cart Smash Up Derby through a 1950's miniature golf course. Look out fiberglass Santa!
  6. Party boy dances nearly naked in the streets of Tokyo.
  7. Wee Man tries to break brick with his head.
  8. Baby gator nibbles on Johnny's nipple. OHHHHHHH!
  9. Alligator tight rope. This one is very very unsettling, hard to watch at first, but then, very very funny.
  10. Firecracker wake up. Loud, but not that funny.
  11. The cast of idiots wear full body skintight old people skin and masquerade as insane seniors. Mildly funny and reprises several times.
  12. Pooping in the toilet display in a hardware store.
  13. Psycho music as a mad hair clipper takes a patch of hair out of anybody on the set. Reprises often.
  14. Mousetrap Romp.
  15. Bungie Wedgie.
  16. Beanbag rifle to the belly.
  17. Ryan Dunn gets beat up by the Double K World Woman's kick-boxing champion.
  18. Tropical pole vaulting.
  19. Partying night pandas.
  20. Bottle Rocket Roller Skates
  21. Roller Disco -- in a truck!
  22. Wasabi snooters -- prepare for graphic vomiting.
  23. Springboard into a ceiling fan. Pretty cool.
  24. Alligator in the kitchen.
  25. Paper cuts. This is so gross, I couldn't watch. In fact, the cameraman vomits.
  26. Top Extreme athletes don fatty suits and bike/skateboard the halfpipe. It's actually pretty cool.
  27. Butterbean (a huge boxer) beats the crap out of Johnny in some department store.
  28. Knight jousting at the local convenient store.
  29. Sea cucumber porn.
  30. Feeding whale sharks out of your underwear. This sequence hosts some amazing underwater photography -- albeit sick and twist.
  31. Shooting firecrackers out of ... err, there's just no gentlemanly way to say it .. their butts.
  32. Yellow Snow Cone. Oh that's just gross!
  33. Wee Man kicks himself in the head.
  34. Golf Course Air horn. People in the theater were laughing so hard, we sounded like a laugh track.
  35. Dressed in a mouse costume and razzing a hissing cougar.
  36. Burglars drop from the ceiling gag.
  37. Toy car up your butt x-ray. I just love what the doctor says, "That's not part of you."
  38. Johnny catapults into the swamp. The end!


Fortunately, most of the stunts involve idiots willing to suffer pain at their own doing. On the very few occasions where they hurt others or even put others at risk, the film dilutes itself. The only other fault -- quite a dud of a climax/ending -- though the credit roll spoof-sequel is amusing.

Shot mostly on little digital cams, the imperfect image fits the imperfect skin and bones of these crazy maniacs. Often the reactions of the group add to the hysteria. I laughed a lot. But as the film warns and so do I, goodness, do not try any of these stunts on your own.

Creatively crude, head-banging, silly, stupid fun. The president of MTV Films admits, "I've basically given money to a bunch of idiots saddled with enough dimwitted ignorance to try one bad idea after another, with the sole purpose of making moviegoers laugh."

Click here for an interview with Johnny Knoxville





  • Jackass the Movie. Copyright © 2002. Rated R.
  • Starring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Dave England, Ryan Dunn, Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, Preston Lacy, Ehren MCGhehey.
  • Directed by Jeff Tremaine.
  • Produced by Sean Cliver, Dimitry Elyshkevich at MTV/Paramount.



Grade..........................A-



Copyright © 2001. Ross Anthony, currently based in Los Angeles, has scripted and shot documentaries, music videos, and shorts in 35 countries across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more reviews visit: RossAnthony.com


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Last Modified: Saturday, 16-Sep-2006 08:07:02 PDT