Jackass: Number Two
Review by Loc

Yup, who would have thought you could go back to the well again? With idiots doing crazy crap, making dumb guys like me chuckle is apparently pretty easy. However, I use “easy” in a relative sense, because the things these guys pull off are anything but simple.

For instance, hooking one’s own mouth with a giant fish hook then swimming in shark infested waters: not easy. Rodeo-inspired teeter-totters complete with raging bull and 4 idiots avoiding the goring: insane and stupid. Even dressing up as an old lady with her breasts sagging out of her shirt: uncomfortable to watch. Yup, the Jackass boys have taken their bread-and-butter shtick and presented it in cinematic glory once again.

So how is it any different from the first? Bigger, grander ideas make for bigger, greater shock and awe. Opening with a snake attacking a mouse, in which the mouse consists mostly of a sock covering a male appendage, you realize things are gonna be more insane, more uninhibited, and more enjoyable to watch. If there was ever a sequel that adhered to the old saying, “Bigger is Better,” Jackass: Number Two is it. However, it doesn’t go quite over the top. We don’t see people doing things that are utterly incomprehensible. Well, incomprehensible to us, yes, but not incomprehensible to them. And that’s an interesting line that they straddle: they do more with bigger, grandiose plans, but they never cross the line into complete, bat-shiz craziness. In doing so, they retain the same irreverent humor that draw the audience in to watch along gleefully instead of disgusting them into submission.

While some may disagree with the disgusting statement, the Jackass crew sticks to their roots. They do crazy things for their own enjoyment, as sadistic as that may sound, and they let us watch along for the joke. In the first movie I was simply rolling with laughter. In this one, there were times I found myself stomping the ground in anxious excitement as most audience members were, hoping the next moment wouldn’t happen but waiting for to see it anyways. And that in a nutshell, is the biggest difference to this movie. Yes, the stunts are more intense, more elaborate, not in a bad way, but the stakes are raised. And while entertaining in a way only Jackass can be, the movie veers slightly away from the low-brow, low-budget insanity to more intricate pieces. Neither good nor bad, but definitely a different feel from the first.

Overall, this was just as enjoyable as the first. Or if you hated the original and the Jackass guys, this will be just as annoying as the first. Either way, you know exactly what you’re getting with this flick, 85% laughing if you’re me. Funny thing happened, I popped in the first DVD to check out the laughfest and I found myself simply chuckling. Yes, the original has classic spots, but the edgy, unrefined humor has been seen so much now, that it lacks a little sizzle. And that’s why Jackass: Number Two hits its notes so well, it’s taken its own formula and tweaked it to fit in to today’s humor. More crass, more extreme, but still lovable idiots doing completely stupid things. Out of 2000 exploding rubber pellets, Jackass: Number Two suffers 1700 pellet wounds. Still laughing as I write.