Jackass: The Movie
Encyclopedia
Jackass: The Movie is a 2002 American reality film
directed by Jeff Tremaine
with the tagline "Do not attempt this at home." It is a riskier and uncensored continuation of the stunts and pranks by the various characters of the MTV
television series Jackass
, which had completed its unique series run by this time. The film was produced by Dickhouse Productions and MTV Films
and released by Paramount Pictures
.
The show features all of the original Jackass cast, including the leader Johnny Knoxville
, Steve-O
, Chris Pontius
, Dave England
, Bam Margera
, Preston Lacy
, Ryan Dunn
, Ehren McGhehey
and Jason "Wee Man" Acuña
. Brandon DiCamillo
and Raab Himself also appear but not as frequently as in the show.
Other regular Jackass personalities who made appearances include Rake Yohn
, Manny Puig
, Phil Margera
, and April Margera
. In addition, Rip Taylor
, Henry Rollins
, Spike Jonze
, boxing star Butterbean, Mat Hoffman
, and Tony Hawk
make cameo appearances.
into Ryan Dunn's rectum
and getting X-ray
s of the car inside his anus, or Dave England defecating in a display toilet in a plumbing store showroom).
sits in a boat, announcing that "this is the end." This is followed with the credits being shown over outtakes from the film. The original ending for the film was supposed to be a Rube Goldberg
-type contraption, with each of the cast members performing a stunt that either has something to do with what they did on the show (for example, the first stunt would have Preston as "The Human Wrecking Ball", knocking him into a Port-A-Potty), or simply for a sight gag (such as Ehren being knocked over in the Port-A-Potty and landing on a bed of toilet paper rolls), ending with Johnny being launched off the catapult next to Rip Taylor. However, as the entire contraption didn't work together the way they wanted it to, the producers of the film decided to try filming an alternate ending, which is how they came to film the "Son Of Jackass" skit. The Son Of Jackass skit involves dressing all the performers in 'old man' clothing and having them run around exploding buildings and sheds, with only Steve-O
surviving to proclaim "Yeah, dude." In the cast commentary, it is said that this is ironic as Steve-O is the least likely to even reach old age. Some bits of the failed ending were incorporated into the end credits montage, like the skateboarder dressed in a penis costume
and the giant Plinko
contraption.
is shot at with a beanbag
projectile from a pump-action
shotgun
.
The first time Knoxville is shot at, it misses him making him extremely nervous. The scene was later edited out as, while the "Jackass" crew could waive civil liability, they could not waive criminal
liability. Hence should Johnny or any cast member have been killed or grievously injured as a result of a stunt, the producers of the film could possibly be held liable on the grounds of negligent or reckless homicide or battery. While Knoxville and other Jackass participants are clearly aware of the risks involved in their stunts, the threat of criminal liability was significant enough that the Los Angeles
law firm Irell & Manella
advised cutting out segments which could potentially be used as evidence in such a case.
In addition, the final skit in the film called "Butt X-Ray" was edited to remove the insertion of the toy car into Ryan Dunn's anus, the reason being that displaying the insertion might have been considered pornographic or otherwise highly objectionable by the MPAA, and could have earned the film an NC-17 rating, severely limiting its distribution.
, Japan
, a special edited version was made and screened for Japanese audiences. Some bits were edited out for legal reasons (especially scenes showing people's faces without their consent); however, they were placed back in for the special DVD version.
A reason for filming extensively in Japan is that laws requiring non-consenting participants to have their faces censored do not apply in Japan.
, 49% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 93 reviews (46 "fresh", 47 "rotten"), and among the "top critics" reviews, 35% of reviews were favorable, with the general consensus being, "There's a good chance you'll be laughing hysterically at one stunt, but getting grossed out by the next one in this big screen version of the controversial MTV show". On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 14 reviews.
alone. At the time, the cast and crew said many times that a sequel to Jackass: the Movie would never be made,
On September 22, 2006, Paramount Pictures
released Jackass Number Two. According to Rip Taylor, the sequel was to be called "Son of Jackass." This was a joke, of course, but Knoxville replied, "To answer all the questions from the first film?"
In late December 2007, a direct-to-video
feature titled Jackass 2.5 was compiled from outtakes shot during the making of the second film and released.
In December 2009, Paramount Pictures and MTV Films issued a press release that a second sequel titled Jackass 3D
would be made. It was released on October 15, 2010. The movie was filmed in 3D
starting in January 2010.
Jackass 3.5 was released in early 2011.
released an "unrated" version of the first film on DVD on September 5, 2006.
Reality film
Reality film or reality movie describes a genre of films that have resulted from reality television, such as The Real Cancun, MTV's film version of The Real World, which was originally titled Spring Break: The Reality Movie...
directed by Jeff Tremaine
Jeff Tremaine
Jeffery James "Jeff" Tremaine is an American film and television producer/director, and, along with Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze, one of the creators of MTV's Jackass. He directed Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two, Jackass 3D, and Jackass spinoff Wildboyz...
with the tagline "Do not attempt this at home." It is a riskier and uncensored continuation of the stunts and pranks by the various characters of the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
television series Jackass
Jackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
, which had completed its unique series run by this time. The film was produced by Dickhouse Productions and MTV Films
MTV Films
MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Founded in 1996, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by fellow Viacom division...
and released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
The show features all of the original Jackass cast, including the leader Johnny Knoxville
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
, Steve-O
Steve-O
Steve-O is an American stunt performer and television personality. His entertainment career is mostly centered around his performance stunts on the American TV series Jackass and accompanying movies....
, Chris Pontius
Chris Pontius
Christopher Andrew "Chris" Pontius is an American entertainer and daredevil. Pontius is a member of Jackass, and along with Steve-O, was the co-host of Wildboyz.-Life and career:...
, Dave England
Dave England
Dave England is an American daredevil stunt performer and former professional snowboarder who is known for appearing on the MTV series Jackass, as well as the films Jackass: The Movie, Jackass: Number Two, and Jackass 3D.-Life and career:Johnny Knoxville stated on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart...
, Bam Margera
Bam Margera
Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera is an American professional skateboarder, television and radio personality, actor and daredevil. He released a series of videos under the CKY banner and came to prominence after being drafted into MTV's Jackass crew...
, Preston Lacy
Preston Lacy
Preston Lacy is an American daredevil, actor and writer for the television show and companion movies, Jackass.- Jackass :...
, Ryan Dunn
Ryan Dunn
Ryan Matthew Dunn was an American reality television personality and daredevil best known for being a member of the Jackass and Viva La Bam crew. He hosted Homewrecker and Proving Ground...
, Ehren McGhehey
Ehren McGhehey
Ehren McGhehey is an American daredevil and actor. He is best known as a star of the MTV series Jackass and its subsequent films.-Jackass:After McGhehey retired from snowboarding due to injury, he got a job at a skate shop in Portland...
and Jason "Wee Man" Acuña
Jason Acuña
Jason Acuña , also known as Wee-Man, is an American TV host and actor. He is one of the stars of Jackass on MTV and the host of NESN's skateboarding show 54321. Acuña has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and is tall...
. Brandon DiCamillo
Brandon DiCamillo
Brandon Ralph DiCamillo is an American actor, stuntman and screenwriter. He was a founding member of the CKY Crew and rose to fame through appearances in the CKY video series and MTV's Jackass, Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union.-Personal life:He previously worked for Neiman-Marcus, and is the...
and Raab Himself also appear but not as frequently as in the show.
Other regular Jackass personalities who made appearances include Rake Yohn
Rake Yohn
Rake Yohn is a member of the CKY Crew and a regular in the CKY Videos, MTV's Viva La Bam and Jackass.-Life and career:Yohn was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania...
, Manny Puig
Manny Puig
Manny "Sharkman" Puig is an American wildlife educator and entertainer. Puig is known for his direct approach when dealing with dangerous animals such as sharks, black bears and American alligators...
, Phil Margera
Phil Margera
Phillip "Phil" Margera is an American reality television personality, best known for appearing on Viva La Bam, the CKY Videos and the Jackass television series and movies...
, and April Margera
April Margera
April Margera is an American reality television personality, best known for her appearances on MTV's Viva La Bam, Jackass, the CKY videos, Minghags: The Movie and Bam's Unholy Union....
. In addition, Rip Taylor
Rip Taylor
Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor, Jr. is an American actor and comedian.-Early life:Taylor was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Elizabeth, a waitress, and Charles Elmer Taylor, Sr., a musician. As a young man, Taylor served in the Korean War while in the U.S...
, Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
, Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
, boxing star Butterbean, Mat Hoffman
Mat Hoffman
Mat Hoffman is an American BMX rider considered one of the best vert-ramp riders in the history of the sport. He is nicknamed "The Condor" and owns the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes, based out of Oklahoma City, OK.-Bio:...
, and Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
make cameo appearances.
Uncensored version of the TV show
Because of the nature of the film, everyone involved knew they could get away with doing stunts that would never get past television network censors. To that end, they included skits that involved profanity (such as Bam Margera vowing and making good on getting his mother to use profanity on camera), extreme stunts (such as Rocket Skates, which was filmed for the television show but wasn't allowed to air due to the network censors), and extremely crude humor (such as Butt X-Ray, which involves inserting a toy car wrapped in a condomCondom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
into Ryan Dunn's rectum
Rectum
The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
and getting X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s of the car inside his anus, or Dave England defecating in a display toilet in a plumbing store showroom).
"Failed ending"
In the ending of the film, Johnny Knoxville is launched from a catapult into a pond, where Rip TaylorRip Taylor
Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor, Jr. is an American actor and comedian.-Early life:Taylor was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Elizabeth, a waitress, and Charles Elmer Taylor, Sr., a musician. As a young man, Taylor served in the Korean War while in the U.S...
sits in a boat, announcing that "this is the end." This is followed with the credits being shown over outtakes from the film. The original ending for the film was supposed to be a Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
-type contraption, with each of the cast members performing a stunt that either has something to do with what they did on the show (for example, the first stunt would have Preston as "The Human Wrecking Ball", knocking him into a Port-A-Potty), or simply for a sight gag (such as Ehren being knocked over in the Port-A-Potty and landing on a bed of toilet paper rolls), ending with Johnny being launched off the catapult next to Rip Taylor. However, as the entire contraption didn't work together the way they wanted it to, the producers of the film decided to try filming an alternate ending, which is how they came to film the "Son Of Jackass" skit. The Son Of Jackass skit involves dressing all the performers in 'old man' clothing and having them run around exploding buildings and sheds, with only Steve-O
Steve-O
Steve-O is an American stunt performer and television personality. His entertainment career is mostly centered around his performance stunts on the American TV series Jackass and accompanying movies....
surviving to proclaim "Yeah, dude." In the cast commentary, it is said that this is ironic as Steve-O is the least likely to even reach old age. Some bits of the failed ending were incorporated into the end credits montage, like the skateboarder dressed in a penis costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
and the giant Plinko
Plinko
Plinko is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. The game involves guessing the prices of prizes to win "Plinko chips," which are later dropped down a large bean machine-style board to determine the contestant's cash prize...
contraption.
Cut out
Because of the sensitive nature of some of the stunts, as well as the possibility of legal action, some parts of the film had to be edited out. One example of this is in the Riot Control Test skit. In this skit, Johnny KnoxvilleJohnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
is shot at with a beanbag
Flexible baton round
A bean bag round, also known by its trademarked name flexible baton round, is a baton round fired as a shotgun shell used for less lethal apprehension of suspects.-Description:...
projectile from a pump-action
Pump-action
A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject a spent round of ammunition and to chamber a fresh one. It is much faster than a bolt-action and somewhat faster than a lever-action, as it does not require the trigger hand to be removed from...
shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
.
The first time Knoxville is shot at, it misses him making him extremely nervous. The scene was later edited out as, while the "Jackass" crew could waive civil liability, they could not waive criminal
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
liability. Hence should Johnny or any cast member have been killed or grievously injured as a result of a stunt, the producers of the film could possibly be held liable on the grounds of negligent or reckless homicide or battery. While Knoxville and other Jackass participants are clearly aware of the risks involved in their stunts, the threat of criminal liability was significant enough that the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
law firm Irell & Manella
Irell & Manella
Irell & Manella LLP was founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell and Arthur Manella , and has grown to 220 lawyers. It currently has two locations in Southern California: Century City and Newport Beach. Irell is well known for both intellectual property litigation and general business...
advised cutting out segments which could potentially be used as evidence in such a case.
In addition, the final skit in the film called "Butt X-Ray" was edited to remove the insertion of the toy car into Ryan Dunn's anus, the reason being that displaying the insertion might have been considered pornographic or otherwise highly objectionable by the MPAA, and could have earned the film an NC-17 rating, severely limiting its distribution.
Japanese version
Since some scenes of the film were shot in TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, a special edited version was made and screened for Japanese audiences. Some bits were edited out for legal reasons (especially scenes showing people's faces without their consent); however, they were placed back in for the special DVD version.
A reason for filming extensively in Japan is that laws requiring non-consenting participants to have their faces censored do not apply in Japan.
Box office performance
The film had a budget of $5 million and was the number one film at the United States box office when it opened, grossing $22,763,437, revenue from 2,509 theaters, for an average of $9,073 per venue. The film fell to fourth place in its second weekend, but dropped a lower than expected 44 percent to $12,729,732, expanding to 2,530 theaters, averaging $5,032 per theater, and bringing the 10-day gross to $42,121,857. The film went on to gross $64,255,312 in the United States alone, with the opening weekend making up 35.43 percent of its final gross. It also made $15,238,519 in other countries, bringing the worldwide gross of $79,493,831, returning its investment nearly 16 times over, and thus making the film a huge financial success.Reception
Jackass: The Movie received mixed reviews from critics. As of November 2010 on the review aggregate site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 49% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 93 reviews (46 "fresh", 47 "rotten"), and among the "top critics" reviews, 35% of reviews were favorable, with the general consensus being, "There's a good chance you'll be laughing hysterically at one stunt, but getting grossed out by the next one in this big screen version of the controversial MTV show". On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 14 reviews.
- Ebert & Roeper – Richard Roeper called it the "feel-sick movie of the year" and said the film is "a disgusting, repulsive, grotesque spectacle, but it's also hilarious and provocative. God help me, thumbs up." Ebert gave the film a low rating, but only barely, explaining his rating comes "somewhere between a thumbs down and a sort of 'waving over' recommendation.
- The Austin Chronicle – Kimberly Jones gave the film 3 stars and said the film is the "feature-length rendering of jackass the MTV show, meaning no plot, no script, just wall-to-wall idiocy." Jones said "It's silly, often stomach-churning, but also awfully addictive, inspiring the same kind of vicarious adrenaline rush as Fight ClubFight Club (film)Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
, with its 'I bleed, therefore I am'; he-man mentality." Jones also remarked, "Consisting of a steady clip of barely minutes-long gags...this piece of outré performance artPerformance artIn art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
defies typical movie conventions...but that shouldn't surprise, or even disappoint, anyone lining up for a ticket." Jones wrote "the query 'can I have one for jackass the movie please?' sort of implies you know what you're getting yourself into" and "all told, either you get it or you don't." - Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
– film reporter Mark Caro gave the film 1 star out of 4 and called it "willful idiocy for idiocy's sake." Caro also said "there's one stunt that I bet none of these moronic daredevils would tackle: trying to say something intelligent about Jackass: The Movie." Mark Caro also remarked, "Maybe the best way to look at Jackass: The Movie is as a piece of conceptual artConceptual artConceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
. How far and low will these guys go? What's the pinnacle of pointlessness?" then concluded "I don't like conceptual art." - Deseret Morning NewsDeseret Morning NewsThe Deseret News is a newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is Utah's oldest continuously published daily newspaper. It has the second largest daily circulation in the state behind The Salt Lake Tribune. The Deseret News is owned by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of...
– Jeff Vice gave the film 1½ stars and said the 80 minute runtime was too much. Vice said the film should have been rated NC-17 and said that many people will find the film to be "possibly the most irresponsible picture ever released by a major film studio." - Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
– Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "B" and said the film "provokes a suspense halfway between comedy and horror. I'm not sure if I enjoyed myself, exactly, but I could hardly wait to see what I'd be appalled by next." Gleiberman also said "In the movie version of the show that might just as well have been called America's Funniest Frat-House Hazing Rituals, the boys engage in infantile Candid Camera grossouts...but mostly, the happy masochistic stunts just keep coming", and also remarked, "it's difficult to reprimand Johnny Knoxville and his crew of merry sick pranksters when their principal pastime consists of dreaming up elaborate new ways to punish themselves." - Film Journal InternationalFilm Journal InternationalFilm Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals....
– Ethan Alter, who admitted to having never seen an episode of the TV show, said he couldn't say he enjoyed watching it, and said "it would be easy for me to hold Jackass: The Movie up as a leading example of the decline of Western civilization." Alter said he was disturbed by "the film's, and by extension the audience's, cavalier attitude towards pain." Alter went on to say the film "deliberately defies any and all cinematic conventions", "there's no story or characters to analyze", and said "simply put, there's no movie to review here, just a series of blackout scenes you're either going to find supremely funny or incredibly idiotic." Ethan Alter also said the film "may be the most experimental feature ever released by a major Hollywood studio" and also that it "appears to be hailing the birth of a new reality genre: Call it America's Most Sadistic Home-Videos." - LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
– film critic Paul Malcolm listed Jackass: The Movie as one of the 10 best films of 2002 and also called it the most underrated film of 2002. - Film ThreatFilm ThreatFilm Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
– Pete Vonder Haar said the results of "essentially transplanting the show to the big screen" are "incredibly funny and often too disgusting for words." Vonder Haar said "the masochists of Jackass aren't hurting anyone but themselves", "no one is exploiting these guys", and "Knoxville and Co. joyfully sacrifice their bodies for our amusement, and it works." Vonder Haar also remarked "the end result is a collection of some of the best physical comedy since MoeMoe HowardMoses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
first smacked CurlyCurly HowardJerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
on the head" and called it "one of the funniest films I've seen all year." - The Miami HeraldThe Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
– Rene Rodriguez gave the film 2½ stars out of 4 and said "Johnny Knoxville and his merry band of anarchists ran around performing the sort of suicidal stunts parental warnings were invented for" and "the gang also likes to train their sights on the unsuspecting public, Candid CameraCandid CameraCandid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...
style." Rodriguez also said "It is not at all sexist to suggest most women will find Jackass: The Movie as further evidence they are the more intelligent sex" and "As much as I laughed throughout the movie, I cannot mount a cogent defense of the film as entertainment, or even performance artPerformance artIn art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, although the movie does leave you marveling at these guys' superhuman capacity to withstand pain (and their even stranger eagerness to suffer it)." - New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
– film critic Lou Lumenick said "[this] plotless collection of moronic stunts is by far the worst movie of the year." - The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
– A.O. Scott said the film "is essentially an extended episode of the popular JackassJackass (TV series)jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
MTV series" and that "some of the undertakings, amateurishly recorded on video, are like demented science experiments." Scott said "Jackass the Movie is like a documentary version of Fight ClubFight Club (film)Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
, shorn of social insight, intellectual pretension and cinematic interest" and also remarked, "Occasionally, there is a flicker of Candid CameraCandid CameraCandid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...
-style conceptual inventiveness, especially in the bits filmed in Japan." - The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
– Ed Halter said "their feature debut plays like a longer episode of the show" and said "it's funny, as the old saying goes, because it's true." Halter wrote "the structure is ruthlessly efficient: no plot, no characters, no sets, and no downtime—just one sight-gag right after another."
Categorization
- Scott Foundas of VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
referred to Jackass: The Movie as the first reality filmReality filmReality film or reality movie describes a genre of films that have resulted from reality television, such as The Real Cancun, MTV's film version of The Real World, which was originally titled Spring Break: The Reality Movie...
when reviewing The Real CancunThe Real CancunThe Real Cancun is a 2003 American reality film released on April 25, 2003 in the U.S.Inspired by the reality television genre, this film followed the lives of sixteen Americans from March 13 - 23, 2003 as they celebrated spring break in Cancún, Mexico and experienced romantic relationships,...
in April 2003. - In a film critic roundup of 2002 films in The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, film critic Armond WhiteArmond WhiteArmond White is a New York-based film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He is currently the editor of City Arts, for which he also writes articles and reviews...
said "Best Documentary: Jackass, far and away." - Ed Halter of The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
wrote, "MTV would surely love to claim Jackass as a mutant by-product of its Real WorldThe Real WorldThe Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
franchise, but its roots lie elsewhere", saying "their self-destructive brand of docu-comedy emerged as a bizarrely elaborate version of a skateboard-video mainstay: slam sections..." - Jennie Punter of The Globe and MailThe Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
said the film "belongs in the too-hot-for-TV direct-to-video/DVD category".
Sequels
Jackass: The Movie was filmed with a modest budget of approximately $5 million, but earned more than $22 million during its opening weekend, effectively managing to secure the top spot at the box office for its debut. It eventually grossed more than $64 million in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
alone. At the time, the cast and crew said many times that a sequel to Jackass: the Movie would never be made,
On September 22, 2006, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
released Jackass Number Two. According to Rip Taylor, the sequel was to be called "Son of Jackass." This was a joke, of course, but Knoxville replied, "To answer all the questions from the first film?"
In late December 2007, a direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
feature titled Jackass 2.5 was compiled from outtakes shot during the making of the second film and released.
In December 2009, Paramount Pictures and MTV Films issued a press release that a second sequel titled Jackass 3D
Jackass 3D
Jackass 3D is a 2010 American 3D comedy film and the fourth film in the Jackass series. It was released on October 15, 2010 by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films to American theaters and marked the 10th anniversary of the franchise, which started in 2000...
would be made. It was released on October 15, 2010. The movie was filmed in 3D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
starting in January 2010.
Jackass 3.5 was released in early 2011.
"Unrated" DVD release
To go with the release of Jackass: Number Two, Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
released an "unrated" version of the first film on DVD on September 5, 2006.