Jackass 3D

The Gang's All Here

Who would have thought that Jackass 3D made a lot of money in its opening weekend in the USA, could it be because we like to laugh at, with and along with Johnny Knoxville and his team of stunt folks in their absolutely insane pranks, or maybe the real world is full of assholes with their minds stuck in a condescending rut, that we need a much deserved break from these pricks and escape to a comedy to chill out? While the 3D gimmick could have artificially inflated ticket sales revenue, I for one have gladly forked out cash and plunged into a show that celebrates idiocy, because it's not worth sweating over the small stuff since the real world bummers aren't worth it.

Designed specifically with 3D in mind, this installment of Jackass contains the usual nonsensical pranks that the team pull off on one another, which turn out better than the other skits involving the punk'd-ing of an unsuspecting stranger ala Candid Camera. I had enjoyed Jackass 2 enough, and fans will know what they're in for - skits ranging from a single, short act that could be just a slow-motion punching in the kisser, or elaborate ones that get repeated against other members of the troupe, such as the portaloos installed with exploding blue paint, or something elaborate involving plenty of tazers and cattle prods (!).

Introduced by Beavis and Butthead since MTV has a role to play here, I'm not sure why some have derided the 3D effects, though admittedly some segments don't really get to exploit the technology to the fullest, but when everything gels together, it's like poetry in motion, especially the opening credits which provided a flavour of what's to come in this big screen outing, and the closing segment that involved a lot of big bangs, slowed down so that you feel every single exploding moment and flying debris headed your way toward the screen.

Jokes involving body parts aren't too far off as well, and you have the entire repertoire of urine (complete with a camera placed at the cock perspective), a guy who can fart at will who demonstrates his keen ability in powering up musical blow instruments and a blowpipe, plenty of faeces pranks where one even involves reverse bungee jumping, and the drinking of a fat man's accumulated sweat from his torso, and soaked underwear. Yes, I was that close to come to puking in the cinema, as you witness the cast and crew themselves vomiting copiously at having see (and I can imagine the smell) it all up close.

Granted this is not everyone's cup of tea, since comedy is subjective and not everyone can laugh at everything that made the final cut. Some pranks naturally lacked bite and felt a little bit forced, but most of them hit the mark. Maybe I'm in the mood for the sadistic, but fans of Jackass should make a beeline to see what your favourite stunt team can pull off this time round, where some of the larger, more elaborate pranks involve going up against a jet engine, and wait till you get a load of the heli-cock-ter stunt LOL. Those who want more will have to wait until Christmas for the Jackass 3.5 DVD release.