Jackass Forever is an affectionate tribute to 20 years of chaos
“The world waited for what felt like forever” begins the narrator of Jackass Forever’s trailer. In truth, few could have predicted the return of the madcap crew for a fourth film (seventh if you include spin-offs). Financially, it makes sense – they’re cheap to produce, draw a crowd, and tug at early noughties nostalgia.
However, Nutballs and Poo Cocktails are a young man’s game. Leader Johnny Knoxville is now 50 with a shock of white hair, while chief Wildman Steve-O is now sober and an animal rights activist. Those who haven’t grown up have become cautionary tales – cast member Ryan Dunn died in 2011 aged 34 following a drunk driving accident. His best friend, Bam Margera, was fired from this film after he broke his sobriety, and his addictions have often been used for trainwreck reality TV. Will the sight of middle-aged men reliving their MTV youth still raise a shocked laugh, or just make you feel old and sad?
In fairness, Jackass Forever’s plot (if you can call it that) doesn’t shy away from the march of time. The returning cast members make way for a younger crew, who take on most of the acrobatic stunts while the old guard focus on skits that involve being hit in the privates or locked in a dark room with snakes. A couple of heart-in-mouth moments with Knoxville (one on a treadmill, one with a bull) show why there’s a need for caution – while you can bounce back from a lot of things in your 20s, eventually the breaks and concussions add up.
The newcomers are a bunch of assorted young fans, brought in to possibly carry the torch for future movies. Most are nice but thoroughly forgettable, with rapper Jasper Dolphin and Zach Holmes (who has the Jackass skull and crossbones tattooed on his chest) standing out as the most charismatic. Dolphin’s father, a former gang member dubbed Darkshark, is a surprise star after being roped into a couple of scenes and reacting with the kind of genuine horror that makes these films so funny.
The biggest moments are saved for the veterans, however. Poor Ehren McGhehey, a consistent figure of fun on the previous films, gets a particularly hard time facing bears and a UFC fighter. The stunts seem to be more genitally focused than before, either because of age, or because pranks like Terror Taxi from Jackass: Number Two wouldn’t go over well today. While this might sound like a cop out, no one could accuse Steve-O of going soft as he invites a hive of bees to make his crotch their new home.
Jackass Forever is a fun, affectionate tribute to two decades of chaos. Director Jeff Tremaine has made a film that feels like an apt farewell, while still leaving room for a new generation to pelt each other with pain balls and pig semen.