Jackass Forever review: an aging crew updates their biggest, grossest stunts

The new film is halfway through Jackass Forever — the first film in the long-running stunts-and-scatology series since 2010’s Jackass 3D — former skateboarder and original Jackass cast member Chris Pontius addresses one of the fandom’s big concerns for the future. “A lot of people ask, what will Jackass be like once we’re older?” he says. He pauses with a wry smile and says, tongue-in-cheek, “Well, it’ll get more mature.” Then he performs yet another stunt involving his groin. The author is unsure if the Jackass crew, headed up as always by director Jeff Tremaine and star Johnny Knoxville, have dedicated themselves to anything, it’s staying young at heart. Their latest film is an uproarious, adolescent, and at times nauseating display of how time won’t affect your ability to have fun if you don’t let it.

Jackass Forever isn’t a The sentimental movie, though. Oh no, it begins with a parody Godzilla sequence where Godzilla (played by Pontius’ penis) is destroying a miniature town by ejaculating on it, until it’s attacked by the giant turtle kaiju Gamera, played by an actual turtle. The close-up of the turtle’s sharp beak spearing Pontius’ flesh is just the first of the many genital-related stunts that make up Jackass Forever.

The film’s stunts have obvious things in common with the ones from previous Jackass The team has the option to create more elaborate stunts using a higher budget. The simple stunt from 2002’s Jackass: The MovieEhren McGhehey, a snowboarder, spins fast on a playground-merry-go round until he vomits. This scene has been transformed into an elaborate showpiece, with several cast members strapped in to a desert ride while they drink milk. Camo-clad gunners shoot paintballs at them as they vomit. Naturally, one of the paintballs hits. Jackass’ most famed daredevil and rowdiest member Steve-O straight in the dick.

Paramount Pictures Photo

Jackass classic, “The Bungee Wedgie,” in which filmmaker and podcaster Raab Himself jumps off a tree with a makeshift bungee attached to his underpants, is refashioned into the “Triple Wedgie,” where two heavier cast members, Zach Holmes and Preston Lacy, jump from an elevated platform with their underwear attached to bungees, so their weight triggers a pulley system that violently yanks up the underwear of longtime Jackass co-star Jason “Wee Man” Acuña.

Farts, feces, semen, nipples, anything that might make viewers lose their minds with laughter — these are the stars of Jackass Forever. This is due to the irresistible charms of youth humor which have defined the franchise’s history since inception. Even 20 years later, it is still a cultural icon. JackassCrew laughs at the idea of a refined sense humor. Instead they are determined to see how much longer they can maintain their distinctive brand of stunt comedy inspired by adolescence before becoming too old.

Jackass Forever is a testament to how much the Jackass series appeals to viewers’ morbid fascination with pain and humiliation, with the kind of physical exposure and vulnerability that turns into an opportunity for people to laugh at and ultimately love themselves. While some viewers might find it crude exploitation, others may view it as an act of sexism. Jackass crew, it’s a series of cathartic moments.

A primitive form of YouTube reaction videos is the series or movies that always focus the camera on the stars and not the victim. It feels as if the conceit is meant to reassure viewers that there are no real consequences. JackassOur laughter and crew are doing well. It’s a demonstration of disbelief and relief, a way to make our weakest, most painful moments into triumphs.

The crew’s age and the acknowledgement of time passing informs the stunts in Jackass ForeverThis was not to make them more insane but rather to test how these middle-aged grey-haired men match their youth adventures. For one stunt, it was created Jackass: The Movie, but never filmed: Knoxville was supposed to be launched out of a cannon and into a lake, where Rip Taylor, sitting in a boat, would declare, “This is the end.” In Jackass ForeverKnoxville’s Icarus wings are finally enough to allow him to take the plunge.

Paramount Pictures Photo

Many actors were only 20 years old when they appeared in the film. Jackass TV show aired, with Steve-O as one of the group’s most daring stunt performers. He’s become a fan favorite over the years for his relentless mission to hurt himself in various ways, even outside of Jackass. He’s stapled his scrotum to his leg for fun, broke nearly 20 of his teeth, and received third-degree burns on 15% of his body. When asked why he does what he does, Steve-O replies that it’s his way of facing mortality. “I wanted to leave video behind that would outlive me,” he says. You are here Jackass ForeverA man nearly fifty years old Steve-O continues to engage in pain, at one time placing a nest of bees onto his genitals. But he allows the younger members of the cast to do the more difficult stunts.

A few of those bits are especially painful-looking, like McGhehey’s “Cup Test,” something Knoxville first conceived for the JackassShow on TV. One of the first iterations involved a target wearing a protective groin and being punched with junk by kids. Then, he was hit with tennis balls before being blasted with an axe. In the latest version of the test, McGhehey puts his nether regions on the line against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Nganou, Olympic softball pitcher Danielle O’Toole, and a pogo stick. (I can’t lie, that last one had me hiding under my seat. I simply couldn’t watch it. It was much easier for me to watch the Saw movies.)

These are the stunts Jackass Forever all seem motivated by the participants’ urge to defy age. As with the human ramp where several cast members support a wooden platform using their bodies to allow a skateboarder or biker to launch from it, this is also known as the “human ramp”. Steve-O and Machine Gun Kelly compete in the pedaling race to see who can push the other into an enormous pool. Steve-O spells out the spirit of these stunts directly to Kelly: “I may not be as young or as good-looking as you, but I can ride!”

For all the film’s attempts at maintaining the same subversive verve and violent energy as the previous films, the participants’ age does make unmistakable and humbling appearances, especially for Knoxville. GQ interviewed him about his bullfighting experience that caused temporary brain damage. JackassHis career was ending. Knoxville was limping and unresponsive at the end of Icarus’ launch stunt. The entire cast covered their mouths in dismay, as if they were no longer enjoying themselves. Knoxville soon makes a comeback and the mood changes. As he is lowered into the ambulance, Knoxville smiles and gives him a thumbs-up.

The moment recalls the end of Quentin Tarantino’s Hollywood Once Upon a TimeCliff Booth, a severely injured actor (Brad Pitt), jokes with Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), about bringing bagels for him when he visits the hospital. Knoxville is the closest thing to Cliff Booth we have in real life — a born stuntman with an irresistible coolness and a mischievous smirk. He’s accepted his own age and mortality, but can JackassAnd what if he isn’t there?

Paramount Pictures Photo

With new blood like Jasper Dolphin, Eric Manaka, Rachel Wolfson, Sean “Poopies” McInerney, and Zach Holmes joining the cast, Jackass is in a state of nostalgic remembrance for its older members’ legacy while signaling a shift to a new era. The older cast members will be grateful for the JackassThis process is now a bit more controlled. Stylistically, there’s less off-the-cuff guerrilla-style winging it, and more engineering and precautionary measures. While we still get a few sequences where unsuspecting furniture salesmen are flummoxed by Knoxville’s Bad Grandpa character, the former displays of public reckless abandon are toned down. Also, this could indicate cultural shifts. It was not common to act like an idiot in public in the 2000s. It doesn’t play the same way today.

The camerawork also reflects a greater sense of control of image, replacing previous iterations’ handheld shaky-cam aesthetics with a polished high-definition stage production — though the tradition of famed JackassLance Bangs is one of the many cameramen who can’t stop spotting cast members slipping and falling. Jackass It has always been a fan of its low-budget TV aesthetics. Even in the initial two films, it felt almost like an extended episode. However, television has evolved to be a cinema-like medium. The same goes for television. Jackass The production’s visual design has been updated to meet the demands of today’s Polish teens and children, regardless of their budget. It’s a necessary and positive move, as a new generation of fans hear about the legend of JackassBegin to accept the debauchery.

Nostalgia is in vogue in cinema, and recently, franchises that reach back to the millennial generation’s youth, like the Matrix movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have taken a bravely meta approach to aging, time and legacies. Jackass Forever The spirit of the franchise follows with the same enthusiasm as at the beginning of the millennium. Franchise has been self-aware since its inception, and the latest film’s retreads of classic stunts are both remembrances and innovations. There is no set of rules. Jackass, except maybe the laws of physics, and the series’ insistence on going bigger and topping itself while also respecting its past has helped it remain fresh in fans’ minds, while also reminding them why they loved it in the first place. Even though the stars are getting older, their joy at reaching new heights is not diminished.

And the crew’s willingness to move forward has helped keep this franchise alive for more than 20 years, even under the constant threat of termination. After only three seasons, Senator Joe Lieberman had publicly condemned the TV series as an unhealthy influence on teens and children. Steve-O’s drug addiction jeopardized the production of Jackass Number 2. Ryan Dunn’s death in a car crash after Jackass 3D left a crater in the lives of many of the cast members — most notably his closest friend, skateboarder Bam Margera, whose relationship with the team and the franchise ended over his issues with drug abuse. With the litany of trials and tribulations the cast has gone through, it’s no wonder Jackass movies don’t come around often. The movie has been around for more than a decade. Jackass Forever Feels like reuniting with friends you have known for a while. It has been decades since we have come out on top, despite every hurdle, whether it was intentional or not. Jackass ForeverThis may be the first series in which the original cast sees the finish line.

Jackass ForeverLaunches in Theaters February 4.