Jackass 3D (2010)
By Roxanne Downer
I would officially like to add to my (relatively short) list of life regrets: seeing Jackass 3D on a full stomach. I would also like to add to my long list of things for which I am grateful: eyelids.
They came in handy when Johnny Knoxville and his band of merry morons decided to attempt a feat of derring-do called “The Sweatsuit Cocktail.” It involved resident fat fool Preston Lacy spending some time on a treadmill, wrapped in Saran Wrap while the rest of the gang funneled, scraped, and wrung all of the resulting sweat (hint: nether regions get good and moist) into a plastic Dixie Cup for fellow idiot Steve-O to guzzle down. The scene is so gross that neither the cameraman nor Steve-O, normally a glutton for punishment and well known for his ability to take a bat to the crotch, can keep it together. Both end up hurling all over themselves, each other, and the camera. And I’m a sympathetic puker.
Hooray for eyelids!
That’s not to say that this and the bevy of other gags that the boys–including Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Jason “Wee Man” Acuna, and Ryan Dunn–get up to aren’t hilarious. They are. Dumb-ass and predictable, but funny as hell. Director Jeff Tremaine, the co-creator of the series along with Knoxville and Spike Jonze, has had 10 years to get to know his audience’s taste (or lack thereof) and capitalize on it. No matter how expected it is, it’s always funny to watch what happens to the nimrod who thinks it’s a good idea to pee into the wind. Funnier if, as in the case of Jackass 3D, that wind is generated by the exhaust of a jumbo jet.
Two complaints: the 3D technology is used to its most raucous effect only in the opening and closing sequences of the film. These are slow-motion reenactments of the guy’s trademark greatest hits on a soundstage and manage to capture the “coming-at-you” sensation that the rest of the film promised. Granted, it’s probably best not the have puke, poo, or peckers coming at you. So, well played, boys.
At 94 minutes, the movie is also too long. After all, most of the stunts are variations on themes already done before on MTV’s original Jackass television show or in one of the previous two big-screen outings. Still, the familiarity of it speaks to the base, dim-witted 10-year-old in all of us who wonders what would happen if you play tether ball with a beehive; pull someone’s tooth out with a Lamborghini; or try to pin the tail on a real-live donkey.
The answer is pain. And therein lies the secret genius of Jackass 3D. Whether they’re hitting their penises with things or hitting things with their penises (their whole shtick is simultaneously puerile, macho, and homoerotic), these dunderheads instinctively understand slapstick and farce like French masters and schadenfreude like good Germans. Even if they couldn’t begin to spell any of those words.
One Response to “Jackass 3D”
Leave a Reply
This Jackass 3D movie review is copyright 2009 Small World Marketing and Jim Steele. This Jackass 3D review should not be reprinted without the permission of the copyright holders.
This movie review of Jackass 3D expresses the opinion of the author only. Other Jackass 3D movie reviews are available online, and some of those might or might not express different opinions on the movie. Like those other Jackass 3D movie reivews, this Jackass 3D review is intended for the entertainment and education of the reader. This Jackass 3D movie review is provided as is with no warranty or guarantee implied.
I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again – THIS is the kind of thing 3-D is perfect for. 3-D is a GIMMICK, and when employed as such, can be fun. I’d MUCH rather see movies like Jackass, Pirahna, and Step Up in 3-D than see “real” hollywood films in 3-D. In those cases it actually distracts and takes away from the movies’ content.