Johnny Knoxville and his crew of rag tag daredevils return for their fourth cinematic outing in Jackass Forever from Paramount Pictures. Jeff Tremaine is back in the director’s chair guiding Knoxville, Chris Ponitus, Steve-O, Wee Man and the rest of their fearless and foolhardy friends as they take part in another round of outrageous pranks and stunts. Which includes standing in the path of a charging bull, launching themselves into the air and crashing through various objects.
In addition, we get a chance to see new cast members Jasper Dolphin, Zach Holmes, Eric Manaka and Rachel Wolfson engage in the wild behavior. When Jackass started its three year run on MTV in October of 2000, I was nineteen and in my first year of college. One of things that may surprise you was I never actually watched the show in its prime. Not that I have anything against people getting paid to make assess of themselves, there were just other shows that took priority. I did start to take Knoxville as an actor seriously after seeing in the films Big Trouble and Deuces Wild.
Audiences that are taking the time to view Jackass Forever know what to expect from the film. The documentary style of going from skit to skit that carried the previous three films is the same for the fourth outing. Sitting in the theater with my thirteen year old son, we laughed at some of the absurdity of the stunts and turned our heads away at others. Animals, stun guns, port a potty’s, exercise equipment and piano’s all play a part in some of the practical jokes and stunts. I am a firm believer that the comedy style that is prevalent in Jackass Forever needs a fresh experience, so my review will not ruin any of the stunts.
That said, I do want to give potential viewers that there is an abundance of full frontal male nudity in the film, which I am surprised got past the MPAA. Nevertheless, the Jackass franchise has always been about pushing the boundaries as far as they can for a laugh and in that regard, Jackass Forever succeeds and two things about the film stood out.
There are some great cameos in the film from the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Tyler The Creator, Jalen Ramsey and Francis Zavier Ngannou. All of whom join in on the stunts. I also loved that the film showed the scenes of the cast and crew masked up as the film was shot during COVID. Respectfully, the Jackass crew never does any COVID related jokes either.
Celebrating the joy of being back together with your best friends and a perfectly executed shot to the dingdong, Jackass Forever is a welcome return to the hilarious, wildly absurd, and often dangerous displays of comedy that entertained fans for the last two decades. With a little help from some engaging new cast members, if this is the last hurrah for Knoxville, he has left the franchise in capable hands for future films.
Final Grade : B-