JACKASS FOREVER:
STUPIDITY REIGNS SUPREME IN THIS OUTRAGEOUS FOURTH OUTING!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND MTV ENTERTAINMENT STUDIOS
Johnny Knoxville and his fellow “Jackasses” are back for one final stunt extravaganza in Jackass Forever
The Jackasses are back for a painful trip down memory lane in Jackass Forever, the fourth and final installment of the Jackass film series based on the MTV series of the same name and the first not to feature Ryan Dunn or an appearance by Rip Taylor due to their passing as well as Bam Margera due to legal troubles among other things. The film was originally scheduled to be released in October 2021 but was pushed back to February 2022 due to COVID, at least it didn’t suffer the same fate as Morbius or The King’s Man, which were delayed numerous times.
I’m a big fan of the Jackass franchise, especially when I was in middle and high school as I was getting into adult and raunchy entertainment like South Park, Beavis and Butt-Head, Family Guy, and several Adult Swim programs. I loved the show on MTV whenever I caught it, watched the first two movies numerous times on DVD, and even saw Jackass 3D in theaters when it was released in 2010 with some of my friends in high school which was a lot of fun.
Jackass has always been the film and television equivalent of goofing around with your childhood buddies, pulling pranks on one another, performing all these amazing stunts that often end in pain, laughing at each other, and getting into trouble. Given how it’s been twenty years since the release of the first Jackass movie and over ten since the release of the last one (Not counting the 2013 spin-off film, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa), now is the perfect time to pay these old friends a visit and go down memory lane…a really, REALLY, painful trip down memory lane.
That’s where Jackass Forever comes in and…there really isn’t much to say about it because I already mentioned I enjoyed the previous films so naturally I’m going to have a good time with this one, which I did. If you’ve seen any of the previous films or the show then you know exactly what you’re paying for, this film is no different except it often cranks the ridiculous and idiocy up to eleven and then comes back around for more.
The film follows Johnny Knoxville (Men in Black II, The Ringer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)) and his fellow “Jackass” buddies, Steve-O, Wee Man, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Dave England, and Danger Ehren as well as some newcomers, Rachel Wolfson, Eric Manaka, Zach Holmes/Zackass, Jasper Dolphin, Darkshark, and most importantly, Poopies (Can’t forget Poopies!) doing what they do best…constantly hurt each other and laugh about it. Through various stunts and pranks such as a Silence of the Lambs dark room that’s riddled with booby traps, getting Scorpion Botox, covering Steve-O’s penis in a bunch of bees, biking and skateboarding off a human ramp, creating the first ever fart and fire underwater explosion, Musical Chair Bags, The Dum-Dum Game, Electric Tap Dancing, getting bit by giant spiders, one of them getting drenched in “Pig Bazooka Juice”, Johnny Knoxville getting attacked by a bull, going furniture shopping with the Bad Grandpa, blowing up a port-a-potty, the Jackass equivalent of a human sacrifice involving honey, salmon, and a bear, and pretty much annihilating Ehren’s testicles in incredibly painful ways for a wild and welcoming reunion with these dumb friends you’ve been hanging out with since 2002…just don’t try any of this at home…or anywhere for that matter!
The film also features appearances from Eric André (The Eric Andre Show, Man Seeking Woman, Sing 2), Tory Belleci, Tony Hawk, Mat Hoffman, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, Atiba Jefferson, Francis Ngannou, Jalen Ramsey, P.K. Subban, DJ Paul, Yelawolf, Machine Gun Kelly, Tyler, the Creator, Jules Sylvester, Danielle O’Toole, Rob Dyrdek, Loomis Falls, The Dudesons, and film director, Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Her), and features a loving tribute to the late, Ryan Dunn at the very end through footage from the earlier films which is actually quite touching.
Overall, Jackass Forever gives fans of the franchise exactly what they want without ever going soft, losing steam, or coming anywhere near intelligent and thought-provoking cinema (Don’t worry old farts, Tragedy of Macbethand Belfast are playing next door!). Since this is the fourth film, the stunts are even more ridiculous, the gross-out gags are more disgusting, and the amount of pain is through the roof to the point where you’ll start to question the safety of the film’s cast and crew…but then continue to laugh hysterically.
It’s quite impressive, all the things Johnny Knoxville and co. put themselves through for our (the audience’s) entertainment, but when you really think about it, you’re watching a bunch of friends palling around and having a good time despite many of their antics involving pain and disgust.
These films always take me back to when I was a dumb high school student making crude jokes and doing goofy things with my buddies. To me, that’s what Jackass is all about, this sense of nostalgia for your younger years and that time of innocence…as depicted by a bunch of man-children in their 50s, but I digress.
Which brings me to a very important debate, despite this film being marketed as the finale, are the Jackasses truly done and should they end their hilariously painful run? It’s hard to say, on one hand I’d be down for a Jackass 5 if the cast and crew really wanted to do it, but on the other if this is the true conclusion to the Jackass franchise then I am not disappointed, I think the franchise had an excellent run and it ended on a strong note.
If you’re a fan of the Jackass franchise, this is one not to be missed, newcomers on the other hand if you weren’t a fan of the previous films or the TV series, this one will not change your minds. It’s a movie strictly for Jackass fans and for fans of extremely stupid humor, I’m Nico and this was “The Jackass Review”.
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