Mark Reviews Movies: JACKASS FOREVER

Jackass Forever, Paramount Pictures

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | February 3, 2022

"Are you filming my bald spot?" asks Johnny Knoxville, the "captain" of the "Jackass" team of professional stunt performers and pranksters. There was a time that some (myself included) would have scoffed at the idea of calling these guys "professionals," but those days have passed. Knoxville, whose bald spot is immediately covered with spray paint by one of his cohorts after mentioning it, and his crew of battered, bloodied, and bruised performers have earned a lot more respect than even they probably could have imagined.

Jackass Forever has the usual team giving themselves a bunch of new and familiar injuries, even as most of them are in their 40s. Being reminded of some of their older stunts throughout the movie and during the end credits, it's a bit of a miracle that all of them can still walk, let alone step onto an industrial treadmill running at its highest setting. "He's bleeding," Chris Pontius says of Knoxville, after they're flung from the treadmill, "and my hairline is receding." All things considered, that's not a terrible result for the stunt or, for that matter, 20 years of this stuff.

The guys are a bit nostalgic in this fourth installment, which was filmed ten years after the previous official entry in the series, 20 years after they started the TV show that launched the team to fame, and, for some chunk of the movie, in the middle of a global pandemic. The specter of severe injury or death has never stopped these guys, so it's little shock to see some of them and the film crew wearing masks and social distancing, just so the others can be recorded doing something silly and dangerous. They're entertainers, and the show must continue—outbreak of a deadly virus around the world or not.

One might notice a little more consideration in this installment. Knoxville keeps warning people not to hurt or even touch the animals they use in certain stunts (He's paid back by a bull, in a pretty scary moment, for his thoughtfulness). Pontius refuses to grab a scorpion that has fallen on the chest of newcomer Rachel Wolfson, until he actually has her consent to do so (The funny thing is that the arachnid has crawled up to her shoulder by the time that discussion happens). When another new member, only known as "Poopies," is lying motionless on the ground after a hard hit, everyone rushes to him and calls for medical attention (He either recovers without help or was faking, but the moment clearly shows they don't fool around with the serious stuff).

On the other hand, there is the scene in which Knoxville has "Danger" Ehren McGhehey strapped to a chair, covered in honey and salmon, and wearing a shock collar. That's when the guys let a live bear into the room. As the animal's long claws pulls at the straps and its jaws snap at McGhehey's hand, his observing teammates laugh from safety.

It goes on perhaps a bit too long and with far too much obvious peril to be funny, and that's always been something of a problem when it comes to these guys. The bear and McGhehey's terror are funny, until he genuinely has a reason to fear losing an appendage. McGhehey, by the way, receives a lot of punishment in this one (A moment of pure honesty comes when he instinctually covers his nether regions, just because he's vulnerable in that instant). His facial reactions, which are quite amusing, probably work against his own self-interest in that regard, although it's almost a guarantee that you've never seen a person's face turn the color that "Wee Man's" does when he's tied up and decorated with raw meat for a vulture's snack.

The stunts and gags in this entry are, as usual, almost non-stop. Some of them, such as a game show setup with a spring-loaded sandal aimed at the contestants' genitals, are genuinely—and painfully, of course—funny, and others, such as Knoxville's old man character being launched through the ceiling of a furniture store, feel like too much elaborate setup for a predictable payoff. Speaking of genitals, they suffer quite a bit here, as Steve-O has a swarm of bees cover his, and don't, surprisingly, when screws and plastic squish Pontius' penis to make a paddleball game. Take that information as you will.

The main guys still have a sense of camaraderie that's endearing, for all of the pain they cause each other. One day, maybe the new members of the team—the aforementioned Wolfson and "Poopies," as well as Zach Holmes and Jasper Dolphin—will reach that point, too. Knoxville and the originals aren't quite ready to pass the torch yet (When they do, one assumes it'll involve a literal torch), and in breaking in the new performers (by breaking them, obviously), the younger recruits feel a bit too separated from the old guard.

Jackass Forever is more of the same—with the same mix of uncomfortable but legitimately funny gags and all of the various issues of unfortunate cruelty, unnecessary danger, and a few too many half-considered stunts/jokes. Take that for whatever it's worth.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products