Jackass: The Movie

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Travis Willock reviews

Jackass: The Movie
(widescreen edition)
Distributed by
Paramount

    Region 2 DVD info at Cover

  • Cert: R
  • Cat.no: 34164
  • Running time: 84 minutes
  • Year: 2002
  • Pressing: 2003
  • Region(s): 1, NTSC
  • Chapters: 40
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Languages: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Widescreen: 1.78:1
  • 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
  • Macrovision: Yes
  • Disc Format: DVD 9
  • Price: $29.96
  • Extras:2 Audio Commentaries, MTV Making Of Jackass, Outtakes,Additional Footage, Promo Spots, 2 Music Videos, Theatrical Trailer,Cast & Crew Bios, Photo Gallery, Poster Gallery.

    Director:

      Jeff Tremaine

Cast of Jackasses:

    Johnny Knoxville
    Bam Margera
    Chris Pontius
    Steve-O
    Dave England
    Ryan Dunn
    Jason “wee man” Acuna
    Preston Lacy
    Ehren McGhehey

Some of you may be wondering just what the hell is such a big deal about this movie.

You probably heard about how well it did (working at atheater I had the unfortunate oppurtunity of finding spots of vomitafter every show probably due to insane laughter and uncontrollable bodyfluids) and confirming the fact that we have some pretty bad movies overhere. But wait a minute, is it bad? No and in fact it’s one of thefunniest movies you’ll ever see if you’re human. I’m serious.

To call this a movie would be a slap in the face to all sensible patronsjudging how this is really just a series of wild stunts (not just stuntsbut gags with real unpredictable people) spread out over 84 minutes. Itall started in 2000 when Jackass premiered on MTV (of course, who’d youexpect to get it… God I hate that channel) to untracked success. It wasjust a thirty minute show of regular joes like Johnny Knoxville and BamMargera doing stunts that would either hurt them or satisfy theirappetite for mischief. A typical episode would have someone in aporta-john and someone pushing it down the hill or crashing into agrocery store in a shopping cart but nude. It was really funny stuff.

Now 2 years later (well, the movie came out in 2002 so don’t startgetting all ‘typo error’ on me) and some time after the end of the showare the stunts still fresh? Yes and there as great as they ever were.

Now remember these guys are not actors and none of this was scriptedmeaning zero plot. There are 40 stunts here so lets go down a few of thehighlights. May be spoilers if you haven’t seen it but if you want abrief summary.

  • 1. Knoxville rents a car, takes it to a destruction derby, mutilates itbeyond comprehension, and takes it back to an unsuspecting rentalbuisness claming it’s their problem.
  • 2. Chris Pontius takes a shit in a hardware store toilet and runs outbefore having to clean it up.
  • 3. Steve-O snorts wasabi up the nose and vomit ensues.
  • 4. Knoxville and crew take to the golf course and use air horns everytime somebody comes down to swing.
  • 5. Knoxville and Margera dress up as burgulars and crash into asuccessful computer business.

Picking those five were hard because almost every stunt is funny savemaybe a couple. Watch Whale Shark Gummers and you’ll see what I meanabout a couple being ridiculous. Some of them work and some do not butthis still a very funny film (or a look at the social degradtion of oursociety if you’re a film snob). Paced at an excellent time, this filmflies by and watching it with friends is a guaranteed blast.

Paramount presents ‘Jackass: The Movie’ in anamorphic 1.78:1(approximately though some may say 1.85:1) widescreen. This was shot ona variety of cameras including home video, super 8, and regular filmcameras. I honestly thought this would be a mess considering the type ofcameas used but Paramount has produced one hell of a transfer. Blacksare deep and pixelization is nil. The only problem you’ll have is thesubdued colors but that’s just due to the cameras used in some scenes.

Also, Paramount has taken a leaf from Universal and Warners book (herein the states anyway) and has begun releasing seperate widescreen andFOOLscreen versions on EVERY new release including this one. You Region2ers are lucky how you get one version and avoid the confusion. If thestudios only explained to the people, hell they should put a commercialbefore a theatrical film since they already have 10 minutes of themanyway. ‘Ugh!’ indeed.

Audio is offered up in two options (both English) Dolby Surround 2.0 andDolby Digital 5.1. Obviously the 5.1 track exhibits much more ambience,mostly in the scenes with the hard rock soundtrack playing. Thisshouldn’t have probably sounded that great but you’d be hard pressed tofind problems since dialogue is clear.

Now why can’t all Paramount titles be like this (‘Escape From LA’without a Carpenter commentary, come on!). They have loaded this DVDwith everything you need and nearly every extra is watchable.

  • Audio Commentaries: 2 are provided here and both are great. The firstfeatures Johnny Knoxville with two members of the crew. The second isthe best to go and features the whole group of Jackasses (minusKnoxville for some reason) having a good time laughing at themselves onthe movie. Definitely watch the second commentary if you skip the first,you won’t be dissapointed.
  • MTV- Making of Jackass: 24 minutes, full frame. What may have beenstudio promotional fluff is actually a newly filmmed series ofinterviews and gags. Good insight is provided here and there and remainsinteresting throughout.
  • Outtakes: 7 mintes, anamorphic. Unused stunts and bloopers, mostly funny at times.
  • Additional Footage: 19 segments total, 27 minutes, anamorphic. Mostof these are deleted scenes and extended stunts. Some of these aredefinitely hilarious but a few do not work.
  • 2 Music Videos: “If You Wanna Be Dumb” is a very funny music videointerlaced with new stunts or TV faves. “We Want Fun” this video focuseson the wrap party of the film but damn that song is annoying.
  • Promo Spots: 9 total and some are pretty funny like the merchandising spot.
  • Theatrical Trailer: Non-anamorphic. At least it doesn’t lead you to thinking the film has a plot.
  • Cast and Crew Bios: A very extensive digest of bios.
  • Galleries: A photo gallery with some pretty good captions and some unused poster galleries.

This is one of the only DVDs I had fun with watching all the extras.Paramount has done a great job.

Packaging is amaray. The film’s theatrical poster is used as the cover.There are 40 chapters total, each featuring a stunt (minues the endcreditis which still include a few). The front menu is animated, restare static.

Overall, you’ve got to be pretty stuck up not to be able find somelaughs in this hilarious film. Paramount has put together some greatextras, a great transfer, and good sound to make a well recommendedDVD.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL
Review copyright © Travis Willock, 2003.

EmailTravis Willock

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