"Jackass 3D" Movie Review

"Jackass 3D"

Movie Review

Directed by Jeff Tremaine, Written by Preston Lacy, Rate R, 94 minutes.

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

The world was a different place at the turn of the millennium. The Internet, still aflutter from the dancing baby craze of ‘98, had yet to catch on to something that America’s Funniest Home Videos (AFV) realized more than a decade prior: Man fall down go boom equals funny.

So when "Jackass" premiered, it was unlike AFV or cartoons like Looney Tunes and Beavis and Butt-head--these were actual people willfully putting themselves through torture, laughing about it, and coming back for more. It didn’t yield the cartoony ignorance to pain like Wile E. Coyote---instead, the repercussions of their stupidity were the viewer’s reward. There’s something enduring about their enthusiasm for sadomasochistic entertainment, at least enough to make following these miscreants across a television series and two movies.

That’s not to say it’s all the same. Their evolution from simple skits like shopping carts to the miraculous “Terror Taxi” displays their evolving resources and creativity, and the release of "Jackass 3D" continues that evolution in horrifying 3D. However, Johnny Knoxville and company don’t just add a third dimension visually. Rather director Jeff Tremaine uses something he discovered on "Jackass Number Two": Fear equals funny.

Much like its predecessor, Jackass 3D’s funniest moments don’t necessarily breed from the pain inflicted but rather the tension and regret it causes. Ehren McGhehey’s “Lamborghini Tooth Pull” plays like a deranged version of "Marathon Man" and watching the floss tighten around his tooth is almost as stressful. It’s clear he doesn’t want to do this and his reluctance makes the scene funny.

Even Steve-O, known for his outrageously painful stunts, which include literally becoming shark bait, admits to being claustrophobic before a particularly disgusting stunt. Their apprehension creates a nice hum of tension.

By now, you already know whether you’re going to see "Jackass 3D." If you found enjoyment in the past two films, you will undoubtedly like number three. There’s more pranks, pain and poop in large quantities. It’s gross.

The addition of 3D makes these moments even more disgusting. The camera’s ability to shoot at such high speeds allows them to present the prat falls in super slow motion, which for the “Rocky” sketches is downright impressive, while for others, like “Model Train,” it’s really just revolting.

The only downside to the film is, much like the other two, 90-minutes is a bit too long for their antics. An R rating does ensure that stunts can be even more intense than on TV, but the half-hour containment suited the show’s pacing much better.

Regardless, there’s something exciting about watching people who are willing to nearly kill themselves for our entertainment, but above all else, they remain funny in their attempts.  So give "Jackass 3D" a look. It deserves it.

Grade: B