MOVIE REVIEWS
Jackass: Number Two
Jay Perry
Before you read this review, do me a favor: grab a dictionary, thumb to the ‘M’ section, and find the word “masochist.” Color me shocked if there isn’t a picture of Johnny Knoxville, or any other members of the Jackass Crew, right next to the definition.
Jackass: Number Two, like its predecessor from 2002, is about as much of a typical movie as Michael Jackson is a trustworthy babysitter. Instead of 95 minutes filled with plot points and story-driven dialogue, the audience is treated to a glorified masochistic\borderline homo-erotic clip show (although, to its credit, this latest installment does have a higher production value and features a musical-number at the end). Knoxville and Co. want to generate laughs (whether it be from themselves or the audience), and will obtain their goal no matter what the cost may be.
Do they succeed? You bet your ass they do.
Regardless of how you view this sophomoric-type of humor, it’s easy to agree that the Jackass Crew has guts made of iron and balls of steel. It takes a special type of man to willingly jam a large fish hook through his cheek and allow himself to serve as bait for some live “shark-fishing”. Sure, he’s not someone you want to bring home to Mom and Dad, but he’s tailor-made for some self-inflicting punishment all in the name of comedy.
The stunts performed in Jackass: Number Two are a mixed bag. Some are simply repulsive (Chris Pontius drinks horse semen), some are charming in a frat-humor sort of way (“The Fart Mask”), and some are actually interesting from a physics standpoint (how far will someone strapped to a big red rocket go?) One thing is for sure, these guys never seem to run out of creative ways to hurt one another. I don’t know what it takes to have the mental capacity to funnel a beer up (down?) your rectum, but you it must have something to do with being imaginative.
One aspect that is overlooked when talking about the Jackass Crew is their charisma. If Johnny Knoxville and Co. were substituted with some other stuntmen, most of the stunts would lose some of their appeal. They each have their very own specific traits that allow them to stand out individually, and not get lost in the group: Knoxville is the maniacal and manipulative leader, Ehren McGhehey is the gullible whipping boy, Bam Margera is the asshole, etc. Watching them interact with one another is quite interesting, as they all seem to feed off of each other’s distinct character trait. One particular clip that stands out is how Knoxville down plays a stunt that will require himself, Bam, and Ryan Dunn to stand unprotected in front of an anti-riot land mine. Neither Dunn nor Bam want to take part in the stunt, and they even try to convince Knoxville to sit it out. Yet a few minutes later, thanks to Knoxville, they all are standing in front of the land mine as it fires hundreds of hard rubber balls in their direction. Naturally, once it’s over and both Dunn and Bam are on the ground in pain, Knoxville is the first to get up as he laughs hysterically.
Jackass: Number Two clocks in at 95 minutes: about the perfect length for this type of “movie”. After the first half-hour or so, the movie tends to drag a bit (there are only so many times you can laugh at someone smashing into a wall). However, just when things start to get tedious, an outrageous stunt will be presented that helps reinvigorate the audience. Director Jeff Tremaine does a respectable job in pacing each stunt to ensure that they don’t go on for too long and lose their shock value. It does take some sort of intuition to know how long is too long to show a guy having his penis bitten by a snake.
Any director will tell you that a successful movie will elicit its intended reaction(s) from an audience. While Jackass: Number Two fails to meet the standards of a conventional movie, it unquestionably succeeds in generating its intended reactions from the audience: laughter, shock, and disgust. Simply put, If you have a hard time finding comedy out of others pain, suffering, and humiliation, then you will most likely want to flush this Number Two down the toilet. If you’re comfortable with that stuff, then pony up that hard-earned scratch and spend 95 minutes with the guys from Jackass.
You’ll be glad you did…I think.
