Jackass 2.5

One of the oldest forms of making someone laugh is the use of physical comedy. It is not dependant on language and as such can be universal. In the earliest days of film before the advent of sound the most popular actors were the comedians. Men like Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and the Marx Brothers all may millions of people laugh without having to say a word. Even the cartoons that our children watch are filled with slapstick humor. There is a fine line between watching a person get hurt and having a laugh. It has been said that comedy is a matter of distance; if you see a man slip and fall you can laugh, if you are close enough to see the pain in his face you can’t. Many of us grew up with the antics of the Three Stooges. They hit each other with fists, planks and household appliances but it was always show to be funny not painful. In more recent years everything has to be more extreme. People have the overwhelming desire to go beyond where anyone has been before. Normally this is good for any endeavor as advances are usually made but pushing the limits. There is, however, at least one place where going beyond the limits is not to advance but only to gross out and that what goes for physical comedy now.

At the nadir of this new movement are Steve-O and his merry band of reprehensible followers collectively called ‘Jackass’. When a group of young men willingly take on a name like Jackass you know that there is something seriously wrong with these boys. It may seem harsh to say that they are all a few cans short of a six pack but just a few minutes of watching their stunts and you will have to agree, these boys aren’t right in the head. When masters of slapstick do their stunts they are carefully planned. The movements are choreographed to the smallest detail to prevent possible harm. The guys in Jackass have a far difference strategy in formulating what they do. After watching several of their films it preparation seems to go as follows. First get copious quantities of high proof alcohol and any other mind altering pharmaceuticals that may be available. Think of something that is completely stupid to do. Have some more alcohol and drugs until you come up with something that is not only stupid but down right dangerous then stumble outside and do it.

The Jackass troupe made a movie of their actions in 2002. In 2006 they came up with a sequel aptly named Jackass 2.0. Now Paramount Pictures has come out with an extended version of the sequel called simply Jackass 2.5. I can’t fault Paramount for releasing this film. They continually release some of the best in cinema and television to DVD. They are always responsive to their public and give the people what they want. In this case there is a demand for Jackass and Paramount is merely providing what people have asked for. This DVD release is not for the faint of heart. It contains stunts and actions that are dangerous if attempted. These are barely trained professional idiots so leave this to them. I know a lot of people who would remove any admonishments from this production. They feel that if people want to try these things at home than it is just a means to chlorinate the old gene pool and thin out the heard. Since we live in an enlightened society that has an imperative to protect those who would try these things lets all hope for the best. There is a chance that anyone attempting to emulate these stunts will pass out from the prerequisite amount of alcohol before going through with it thereby giving them time in rehab instead of the hospital or morgue.

The Jackasses include the afore mentioned leader Steve-O along with his cronies Johnny Knoxville, brothers Vincent and Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy and Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna. These boys don’t have to wait for aliens to land for a good old fashion anal probe. They seem strangely fascinated with that part of the anatomy all on their own. One thought that never cross what is left of their belabored brains cells is the phrase ‘that won’t fit up in there’. Among the rectally oriented stunts are sticking a golf tee there. In this case a divot is a really painful proposition. Knoxville goes for a rectal exam and they film it and then there is Bam flying a kite attached to his butt hole. Some of the jokes are in an odd way funny. One is where they the paint the rotund Lacy to look like a gorilla. They then dress Wee-man as a damsel in distress and have Lacy stand atop an outhouse as they try to hit him with radio controlled airplanes. Lacy freaks out and falls. They up his dose of Xanax and try again. Other pranks are as juvenile as hiding Wee-man in a cooler to jump out with a water gun when someone goes for ad drink.

What makes this version 2.5 is the addition of some 44 minutes of deleted scenes. Many are filmed in foreign countries which help to answer the question of why so many people around the world hate Americans. Steve-O snorts something and tries to cough it out only to vomit. They place Wee-man on a bucking jackass in rodeo style, somehow very fitting. In other prank one of the troupe dresses in a raccoon costume. The distinctive eye markings are missing so they hit him in the face hoping to blacken his eyes. A lot of the extras are behind the scenes chats with the guys. They go into detail as to why a stunt failed no matter how much they tried. Gross stupidity never seems to come up but is always a possibility. There is something about them discussing their failures that make them seem less pathetic. There is a new featurette called ‘The Making of Jackass 2.5’. They boys talk about why they felt it necessary to gather together all the unreleased footage and add to the previous film. One thing that may be noteworthy is there is now a touch of grey in the hair and straggly beards of the guys. They are getting older chronologically but they are still mischievous little boys at heart. The stunts here are not as revolting as some of the previous ones but there are still enough gross out moments for the legion of fans out there. They also have a look at the making of the jackass game. Here the guys are wearing tight black outfits with colorful sensors for the computer as the go through their routines.

This release is intended to hold the fans over until Jackass three can be completed and released. The very odd thing about this film is the guys actually appear to enjoy what they do. Perhaps it is some misfiring group of neurons in their brains or their mother’s dropped them on their heads as babies too often but they are having fun and that shows. Back in the day of traveling circuses there were always acts on the midway that featured people doing strange things. There was usually a man who would drive a nail through his nose or bit the heads off of chickens. Jackass is really no different from that form of entertainment just more extreme. If you are into this genre than this is just right for you.

Posted 12/17/07