Devin Salutes The SALO In JACKASS 3D!

JACKASS 3D With Jackass 3D, the Jackass franchise takes its place alongside such classic works of extended life studies as Michael Apted's Up series and Francois Truffaut's Antoine Doinel films. It's only been ten years since these amazing dipshits starting taking falls, sustaining injuries and eating poo for our entertainment, but in that decade the Jackass crew seems to have spanned the whole of human experience. They've gone from the wildest of youths to broken, beaten men. If there were to be a Jackass 4, the only possible subtitle would be Grumpy Old Men. That's not a critique of Jackass 3D; despite their age and the obvious accumulation of a decade worth of personal physical abuse (both on and off camera), the Jackasses each deliver their best. But as they get older, and as they revisit their schtick again and again, their best needs to be a little bit bigger than it was last time. And in Jackass 3D we see the boys stepping away from the edge for the first time; I believe this film includes more moments of the Jackasses simply giving up on stunts (after they've already been injured, to be fair) than any before. In the past they shrugged the hits off, but this time they retire to the office kitchen and apply ice packs and whine about it. The big gimmick this time is that the film is in 3D, and while that extra dimensional is often used effectively, the real secret of what makes Jackass 3D work is the additional of hyper slomo photography. We see the Jackasses taking hits at what must be a couple of hundred frames a second, so that every contortion of their faces and tear of their flesh is happening in crystal clear focus before our eyes. It's anatomy of self abuse, delivered in ultra detail and clarity. It's fascinating, and it makes us feel the hits just as much as the Jackasses do. Jackass 3D is more hit and miss than the last two films; few of the stunts really fall flat, but some do rise only to the level of a chuckle. The hidden camera street antics - often dicey on the original show anyway - don't seem to work so well. I don't know if it's the fact that Johnny Knoxville as a randy grampa isn't taken to its logical extreme or if we've just seen Johnny and Spike Jonze in the old age make up enough, but these segments have rarely been firecrackers anyway. When the film does hit, though, it hits huge - it's a movie that one moment elicits choking laughter and then gagging. Jackass 3D may not have the grossest stunts the team has ever done but they're definitely more impactful this time around. On paper the idea of Preston Lacey in a big Saran Wrap suit exercising in a hot room, having his sweat collected for a cocktail that the (now sober) Steve-O will drink is gross; in execution it is like something from a nightmare version of Salo. There's a shit gag that really feels like it explodes the boundaries of good taste, and no it's not the Ultra Poo Cocktail bit that was shown at Comic Con and Fantastic Fest. There's always been an Our Gang feeling about Jackass. Part of the appeal for me is that these guys fuck with each other, not with strangers, and there's rarely anything too mean-spirited going on. Part of the joy of returning for sequels has been returning to these guys, and it's interesting to see the changes within the group. Knoxville, looking incredibly gaunt, is less present (although that may be because a stunt with a buffalo went almost catastrophically wrong). Bam's paunchy, and his shirt seems to never come off. Ryan Dunn remains Ryan Dunn, the most unchanged of the group. Wee Man and Preston feel like they're pushing harder this time, being more performance oriented than the past. Watching old episodes of the show, where Lacey looks completely put upon in so many episodes (my favorite is the egg nog drinking contest where he's the surliest snow man), the difference is striking. I wonder if knowing that this is the end (and it really, really has to be the end. More on that soon) has pushed Preston to be more theatrical this outing. Whatever the reason, it's enjoyable. It's refreshing to see that Steve-O remains just as crazy when sober. In fact, his sobriety may give him some fairly sweet moments of terror in the film. Chris Pontius feels a little underused, since there's no Party Boy in the film, but since his dick gets ample 3D time perhaps he's used just exactly enough. Ehren McGhehy and Dave England have graduated up this film; in the past they often felt like the rear guard guys, but Loomis Fall (the guy with all the beard) steps up to be in more stunts this film. Besides, how can Ehren be considered rear guard when he allows a Lamborghini to pull a tooth out of his head (a stunt recreated from an deleted scene in Jackass Number Two). Then there's a new star, one who might be able to continue the Jackass tradition all on his own - a ram who beats the living shit out of Dunn, and who looks like he's having the time of his life while doing it. What's striking in this film is seeing again and again the gang come right up to edge. It could be that the stunts are tougher and more dangerous than ever before, since they need to keep topping themselves, but to me it looks like they've just had enough. Even the unflappable Pontius hits a point where he just calls hit quits (to be fair it is while a scorpion is stinging his face). They've done it all, and now they're feeling it all. They seem frailer now, more prone to be hurt, and I understand why, when I talked to him at Comic Con, director Jeff Tremaine said that he felt they probably couldn't keep going. That's reinforced with a really sweet closing credits sequence that brings us back to the first episodes of the TV show, and then shows childhood photos of the gang. While the kid pictures are cute, it's the TV show stuff that snaps your head back. Bam's a baby in the original episodes. Dunn is fresh faced and bright eyed. Knoxville is the sole grown-up in the group, but even he has the impish air of a naughty 14 year old. The gang is still having fun today, but it's not the same as it was. The message of these credits are pointed and obvious and kind of wonderful. They've come very far. It's probably time to wrap it up. -- Devin Faraci