It’s not hard to say you might know what to expect when you go see “Jackass 3D.” You think you are going to see insane bone-crushing stunts, vomit-inducing pranks and a bunch of dudes who are very, very comfortable with their sexuality doing things that will make most guys go “what the …” All of this in 3D nonetheless. Well, you might be completely correct. And you will still want to go anyway.
The guys at Jackass have jumped on the 3D bandwagon. It was really only a matter of time. Some would say that Jackass was made for 3D. The best thing about the 3D element is that the movie is not about the 3D qualities. It would be just as insane and cool without it. It almost gives the movie a more home video feel. You forget the movie is even in 3D and you feel like this is just a video a bunch of dudes down the street made. Now don’t forget that these dudes have a lot of money to spend on their shenanigans, and they know a lot of people who will help them.
This new “Jackass” goes back to its roots. In the first “Jackass,” things were totally new. Nobody had really done this stuff before. All it was back then was a bunch of skaters and daredevils doing things that they thought were awesome or hilarious. They were doing things that were totally insane and they got it all on film.
In their next movie, after they had received a good deal of fame, things almost got out of hand. Everything had to be bigger and better. This took away from the “Jackass” that we all knew, loved and were told repeatedly not to be when we were younger. “Jackass 3D” brings it back to the good ol’ days. They went back to doing simpler things that were still hilarious and awe-inspiring. They still have a good amount of stunts that are complex and on a larger scale, but these don’t take over the movie. Instead these stunts add up with the smaller scale things to create something better than ever. So, while you have stunts like Steve-O getting bounced high in the air in a porta-potty attached to two huge cranes you will also see the guys hanging out in someone’s yard with a ramp that goes into a pool and a slingshot system for speed.
The most interesting technology taken advantage of in this movie, besides the 3D feature, was the use of slow motion. Slow motion played a big part in this movie. Hearing this about pretty much any other movie might make people moan and groan, but “Jackass” isn’t like other movies. The things these guys do deserve to be slowed down so that you can see all of what is happening. You get to see everything from every flinch to every aftershock ripple of skin. From every mouthful of vomit to every flying dildo, these guys did not leave much at a normal speed. They had obvious got their hands on some top of the line equipment, and if you think it’s funny fast, you will be falling out of your seat when you see it slow.
Instead of simply seeing stunt after stunt, you see reactions to these stunts from actors and crew, and a lot of the time you see what is going on before the stunt. The latter is a huge part of what makes this movie interesting. If you have been following the “Jackass” movies, you know that a lot of the time these guys will jump right into a stunt without a second thought only to react to how bad it really is after.
In this movie you see a great deal of hesitation not just from some of the guys, but from everyone involved. It is becoming obvious that these guys are getting older, and although they are now clearly the professionals that they always claimed to be, they are growing more and more wary.
Johnny Knoxville takes the cake for being one of the toughest guys in the crew. He always seems to be the one that will do the things that nobody else wants to do. You see him talking about how bad a stunt might hurt and you know that he knows what is coming and he still goes for it every time with a smile on his face. It’s hard to say how long these guys will be able to keep up what they are doing but for now they have still got it and it is hilarious.
Now this may go without saying for the experienced Jackass fan but some of you may not be. Let it stand that if you are extremely disturbed by poop, vomit, male genitalia or animals slamming into human beings this may not be the movie for you. Otherwise go see for yourself what these guys have cooked up in “Jackass 3D.”
Ian Winship can be reached at [email protected].
