Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The very first scene of the very firstJackassmovie offers a good encapsulation of the entireJackasscinematic project.
Bam Margera slams Johnny Knoxville atop the head.
Ryan Dunn slaps the side of Margeras face, and Margera retaliates by punching Dunn right back.
Each strike seems extremely painful, with the victim cowering right afterward.
People get hurt inJackass.
They scream in pain.
They bleed and they vomit and they shit themselves.
No, youre twisting him, youre fucking twisting him!
Fuuuck, hes got my nipple dude.
Hes got my fucking nipple!)
I actually burned my butthole).
No realJackassstunt is complete without the requisite moment of foulmouthed agony that follows its completion or abandonment.
Think of Dunn sticking a toy car into his anus and then trying to poop it out (Fuck!
Ohhh, that hurts so bad.
in the first movie.
Or England getting a leech stuck to his testicles (hey, just get it off me!
(Give me your camera.
Youre puking right on your lens.)
Often, the aftermath is more fun to watch than the actual bit itself.
(Dude, get me out!
Dont do this to me!
Seriously, get me the fuck out!
Get me out now.
Dude, stop fucking with me!
I fucking hate you guys!)
But thats just one part of the gag.
(Oh my god, dude, that sucked.
Every time it gets worse and worse.
Seriously, was the dick hair necessary?)
Individually, each of these stunts or pranks would seem breathtakingly mean-spirited.
before being driven, glassy-eyed, to the emergency room.
(Where we going, Knoxville?
Why are we doing that?
Apparently, I have a big gash in my head, and I think Im a little concussed.)
BothJackassthe show andJackassthe movies start and end with a warning imploring viewers not to try these stunts at home.
The films have so effectively created a communal atmosphere that the audience often feels like a part of theJackassteam.
They look and feel real, and proudly so.
And they get old, too.
The stunt itself is, of course, ridiculously dangerous.
(Knoxville revealed recently that he suffered brain damage from the encounter.)
But its in keeping with the overall mood of the new film.
Dunn was tragically killed in a drunk-driving accident in 2011.)
Steve-O shows us his fake tooth and, at one point, vomits it out.
And then theres Knoxvilles hair.
Nobody wants to see me die, Knoxvilles hero, the American daredevil Evel Knievel, liked to say.
But they dont want to miss it if I do.
He didnt always succeed, and his smash-ups were often as magnificent as his successes.
Knoxville has paid homage to his hero multiple times but only in the most ironic ways.
(You smell like the inside of an ass!)
(That thing is squirrelly as fuck!)
Much like Knievels, his rocket malfunctions the first time and nearly kills him.
So he tries again even though the rockets main purpose was always just to crash.
An America where shit just goes wrong all the time.
No, its more than that: an America where weexpectshit to go wrong all the time.
Over and over inJackass, ramps fail, bikes wobble, stuff collapses, and people bleed.
It would be no fun if they didnt.
My ass meat!)
and by trapping each other in limousines full of bees.
(Oh, dude, it hurts.
just put me somewhere where theres no bees!)
They take our despairing reality and turn it into entertainment by presenting a vision of loyalty and fellowship.
