Review: Jackass Forever
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| Batman and Robin: Colourised |
"Jackass Forever"
We open on a city, imperilled by doom, an homage to the "Godzilla" movies, and other classic Kaiju fare. Our cast are headlined by the character of Johnny Knoxville (Phillip John Clapp) as a General, mortified by the approaching slaughter. Already there is a skewering of US militarisation and imperialism, of their incompetent, grasping, brutal desires for violent imperial gain being nothing but a twisted, expanded version of the puerile games we are about to bear witness to. Steve-O (Stephen Gilchrist Glover), Dave Englund, Chris Pontius, "Danger" Ehren McGehey, "Wee Man" (Jason Shannon Acuna), Rachel Wolfson, Preston Lacy and more join our band. Already they blur the lines between fiction and reality: personas and players in a great drama about to unfold. Who is the character? Who is the part?
Our beast is revealed: a Godzilla-esque creature indeed but, in a subversion of our expectations (a continued theme in this, the destruction of the boundaries of reality and what we know to be real) it is instead the penis of Chris Pontius, in a model city. Our perspective is shifted between the two: the world of the city and its people, who are scattered in this anarchic carnage, victims of the flow... Or are they willing participants? People who long for this world, where they have some semblance of control, where they can combat the anhedonia of today's world with something cathartic, unpleasant, juvenile, but altogether real?
Then our protagonist, nay ringmaster, turns to the camera and says "My name's Johnny Knoxville! And welcome to Jackass!"
And it all makes sense.
We see the giggles, the laughter of the crew making this penis puppet creature. They embrace the excesses, the tasteless pushing of boundaries. It's all a controlled game.
It's all an antidote to our nightmarish free-wheeling failed state of capitalism.
And we're on board for the ride...
We see our heroes do battle with boredom, bond over misery, catharsis and conquering their own fears of snakes, spiders, vultures eating meat off of a staked midget's penis, and even enacting Icarus' fall from the skies via the use of makeshift wings, Mr Knoxville and an enormous cannon - a true reminder (if any were needed) that they are aware of the joke, that there is no hubris, that there is no goal, that theirs is a mission of meaning, of destroying the barriers which confine and contain us.
Appearances by Spike Jonez, Eric Andre and Tyler, the Creator cement its place as a a post-modern, counter culture subversion of cinematic expectations and the realms of celebrity.
In a world dominated by branding and celebrity, they parody it. They have "Jackass" logos branded upon them, and they prove that in a world obsessed with stardom, who better than these lovable, simple idiots who want only to burn things? What better ambassadors of post-modern lucidity?
Rachel Wolfson licks a taser.
Steve-O takes a skateboard guillotine to the shins.
In all due seriousness: this was fucking great. A chaotic, nihilistic and disgraceful celebration of friendship and the stupid things in life.
It's every "Jackass" movie ever, and all the better for it. You'll know if you want to watch it from the title. It's surprisingly endearing, watching Johnny Knoxville slap men in the penis with a flip flop in a quiz game, or Rachel Wolfson DJ a game of "Exploding Musical Chairs", as it's just pure cathartic fun.
Personal highlight was "Silence of the Lambs", I was actually crying with laughter.
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