"Jackass 3D" Movie Review
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It's been ten years since "Jackass" conquered pop culture. Since then, the boutique MTV show went on to become a multi-million dollar film franchise. A decade later, the merry band of rabble rousers is a bit older but not necessarily wiser.
"Jackass 3D" features the same brand of humor we've all grown accustomed to. The third installment is bigger, funnier, and messier. This full-feature film even employs 3D technology just to prove that in three-dimension even poop will look cinematically appetizing.
Team leader Johnny Knoxville returns with his uninhibited cohorts namely Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Dave England, Ryan Dunn, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, and Ehren McGhehey. The group performs unbelievable acts that will either make you laugh or gag you into full submission.
Unlike some recent 3D-converted films ("Clash of the Titans" anyone?), "Jackass 3D" was conceptualized and shot in three-dimension. Some of the skits are enhanced by the technology such as the party tricks performed by Will the Farter.
The flatulence expert showcases his talent as Knoxville and company giggle with delight. This scene will impress MTV icons Beavis and Butt-Head who incidentally showed up earlier in the film to ponder the effective usage of 3D.
My favorite scene is the first skit called "Hi-Five" featuring a giant hand slapping unsuspecting cast members. The gag highlights why we love "Jackass" in the first place. Bawdy, physical humor is on full-exhibit all in the name of laughter. It was a pure, unadulterated laugh-out-loud moment.
Like other "Jackass" movies, some of the skits are really funny, and some are just plain gross. Scatological humor punctuates the movie and "Jackass 3D" never backs down. There's a truly repugnant scene where Steve-O is tied inside a Porta Potty full of animal feces. The contraption, tied to bungee cords, is then flung 50-feet into the air. You get the picture.
But deep in the heart of "Jackass 3D" is a bittersweet movie featuring grown-men who will still do anything for laughs even though each and everyone of them are facing real-life problems. Steve-O, who has been battling drug and alcohol abuse, must learn to perform his tricks without using any mind-altering substance.
Knoxville says to the camera how much he's proud of Steve-O who has been sober for two years. At the end of the day, "Jackass 3D" is about confronting their fears and trying to make comedy out of them.
For example, Bam Margera is seen visibly shaken in a skit featuring snakes. He clearly has snake phobia. Once it gets too intense, returning producer/director Jeff Tremaine wisely follows a skit with a funny naked gag featuring their resident nudist, Chris "Party Boy" Pontius.
Producer Spike Jonze also returns to enliven the proceedings. This time, he's hidden underneath layers of fat-suit as a lovely grandma. Jonze, who last directed the film "Where the Wild Things Are," clearly loves the theater of the absurd.
"Jackass 3D" is a perfect antidote to forgetting our own problems. It's funny and silly, and jaw-droppingly absurd. If you like this brand of humor, then "Jackass 3D" is for you. Stay after the end credits to see the heart of the movie.
"Jackass 3D" gets 3 silly kisses