Jackass - The Movie (DVD) > Reviews (36)

First of all, let’s get one thing straight; Jackass: The Movie is not a movie in the conventional sense. There is no screenplay to speak of, no acting and no real plot, the script appears to be improvised and the structure is closest to that of a sketch show. Fans of the MTV series will understand me when I say that a more accurate description would be Jackass: Extended & Uncut. Much like South Park: The Movie, this is nothing more than a longer and more extreme episode of the popular comedy.

Which means that anyone looking for a clever or witty film will be sorely disappointed, and those who are not too keen on the television programme bored. When the series initially aired on MTV, I found Jackass refreshingly original, drawing its comedy from the pain or stupidity of others. A thirty-minute slot also provided the perfect format for the show, as it took the form of short bursts of fun every now and then with a perfect balance between its grotesque and laugh-out-loud aspects. And as not many episodes were made, there was a firm focus placed on quality above quantity.

Unfortunately, the feature length Jackass: The Movie didn’t hold my attention for long. Now I don’t pretend to be a hardcore fan of the show, but I assumed the crazy style would definitely keep a casual viewer such as myself happy. This wasn’t the case. While it had its admittedly very funny moments here and there, the lack of any decent soundtrack and the broken, unlinked sketches just left me bored in-between. With a bit more rhythm, the more than worthy camera work, which provided as clear a view of the action as possible, could have been complemented well – leaving a fresh and generally enjoyable film. Sadly not.

Moving on to the sketches themselves then, which weren’t quite as surprising or unpredictable as I’d come to expect from the television show. About a third were amusing or better, with the other half being either repulsive or just not funny. There’s a nice mix between stunts, sick jokes and general tricks on offer – the usual ideas from Jackass – and therefore there’s enough here to satisfy most loyal fans, even if the quality of humour is far from up to scratch. Anyone else, however, won’t be too impressed as the ending credits role.

Aside from the above, there really isn’t that much more to say about Jackass: The Movie. As I’ve already pointed out, being something that only just passes for a movie because of it’s length and extremity, there are very few topics I can comment on. So I’ll leave you with the predictable conclusion; fans will find plenty here to keep them occupied, while the rest of us will see it as nothing more than a below average sick-fest with only rare moments of humour. On the whole, this struggles as a stand-alone film.