Jackass:Best and Last is the result of Johnny Knoxville and his friends spending 20 years doing unspeakable things on screen for their own entertainment. Countless injuries and indignities have been committed to celluloid for audiences who refuse to stop embracing frat humour with both hands. In that time a cult following has turned Steve-O and Wee Man into minor celebrities for attempting to put each other in hospital, while Johnny Knoxville tots up screen time for Men in Black among others.
After two decades of internal injuries and a rogue’s gallery of the usual suspects in tow, some people will be pleased to know this final Jackass does exactly what it says on the tin. There are no revelations that might suggest intellect has anything to do with their antics, while Knoxville remains front and centre as chief instigator. Wrangling robots, antagonising bulls, and gouging his friends into uncomfortable situations.
For the most part Jackass: Best and Last plays like a greatest hits trip down memory lane, showing clips that never made it past the censor, while Knoxville goes on a charm offensive. One thing that becomes painfully apparent is how much of a fan audiences need to be when watching this film. For those who are only curious this might not be the best night out, because schoolboy humour, like everything with cult appeal is an acquired taste.
Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Gross out comedy and barely legal stunts that risk life and limb might have been cutting edge 20 years ago, when Jackass first started, but now it all feels tame thanks to social media. This is the losing battle that Best and Last is up against with contemporary audiences, who can dredge up anything on the internet for entertainment. The other obstacle that exists because of worldwide webs is attention span.
The demographic this might appeal to most are so numb to extreme stunts, physical violence, and acts of blatant stupidity that nothing Knoxville and his crew do is likely to impress. This is ultimately why Jackass: Best and Last often falls flat, feels puerile, and lacks originality. Leaving this erstwhile cast of daredevil diehards struggling to feel relevant in the face of an industry that has passed them by.
A fact that might lead some to assume this last in a long line of Jackass movies is only for the money, and honestly, on occasion it feels like it. Beyond an inventive opening credit sequence and the fight or flight experience of watching everyone degrade themselves for money, Jackass has little else to offer.
Anyone from the MTV generation might turn up for the nostalgia, but everyone else who appreciates cinema will soon beat a hasty retreat as it becomes painfully apparent that actively condoning dangerous behaviour has a sell by date. Especially when audiences now exist in a world with no limit to the extreme entertainment they can access.
Jackass: Best and Last is in selected UK cinemas now.