Jackass. That phenomenon. The first episode was shown on MTV in 2000. The series itself ran for thirty episodes, and since then there have been a number of films and TV specials. I remember there being quite a bit of talk about Jackass when I was at secondary school and sixth form, but I wasn't interested. I took the time to watch the films as an adult instead. That perhaps says a lot about my level of immaturity. If, against all odds, you've never come across this bunch of complete madmen, we can sum it up simply:
Grown men (and a couple of women, who are, however, considerably less involved in the actual stunts) who subject themselves - and each other - to dangerous and often disgusting stunts.
Is it really worth watching?
My answer is yes. This sort of entertainment, however crazy it may sound, was exactly what I needed right now. There's something satisfying about watching people hurt themselves. OK. That sounded very dark. What I meant was people who actually get paid to - and entirely of their own free will - put themselves through this sort of thing. Stunts, experiments, traps. All sorts of things go on. One of my personal favourites is that giant hand that sends people flying backwards.
I've got a soft spot for Johnny Knoxville. There's something about his charisma and that crazy laugh. He's built himself a bit of a career as an actor alongside Jackass, and there are a couple of roles I like. Action Point, which came out in 2018, was entertaining. And as I write this, I realise I need to watch the Jackass film Bad Grandpa again. Incidentally, there's a clip featuring Grandpa here. Paul Walter Hauser also makes an appearance in a newly filmed segment.
Men who are out of touch with their emotions
But this is a tricky genre. Or perhaps it's the Jackass lads who are a tricky bunch. They're absolutely mad about anything to do with violence against the scrotum. And shoving things up their arses. And poo. Take the classic scene where Steve-O sits in a portable toilet that's launched into the air, for example. Some of these bits are really funny, but it all gets a bit much. And perhaps a bit too graphically gross. I like poo humour, but watching grown men drinking laxatives and pooing themselves in plastic suits? Well, I'm not sure. On some level it sounds a bit funny, but then again, it doesn't. So when it comes to nudity and anything to do with bodily orifices, it easily becomes too much.
But. That X-ray image with the toy car stuck up his bum. That's funny, mostly thanks to the X-ray technicians' reactions. As you can imagine, it's basically an impossible task to rate this sort of film. You want everything to be funny, but it isn't. On the other hand, it's so over-the-top that it's actually very entertaining. It's a bit like watching an episode of Key & Peele. Some sketches are absolutely brilliant, whilst the humour in others falls flat.
At the same time, Jackass is perhaps exactly what you need to switch off your brain for a while.
Some of the new segments are really funny. And sometimes the gross-out factor is so high that you want to both laugh and look away. There are also a few clips that have never been broadcast, which really stand out. One example is when Knoxville pretends to be an escaped prisoner who runs into a hardware shop and asks to borrow a hacksaw. I'm not sure exactly which of all the old clips are being shown for the first time and which are the favourites. It's certainly fun to see a couple of them again, but I do find it a bit of a shame that they aren't filling the programme with more new material. At the same time, the danger they put themselves in and the fact that they're all approaching or past the fifty mark might be a good reason to take it a bit easier. Or to escape the heat for a while on a day like this. The film is subtitled 'Best and Last', and it's promised several times that this really is the final instalment. But... we'll have to wait and see, won't we?
If you like Jackass, you'll like this. If you enjoy watching people hurt themselves, you'll probably enjoy this too. On the other hand, if you're extremely squeamish about poo, vomit, people shitting out table tennis balls and the like? Watch a YouTube clip of people falling over instead.