Jackass 4.5 (2022) - Movie Review

Well… I said I’d review this when it came out, and while I’m a little late to the party on this one, I’m holding up my end of the bargain. Except how does one review what is essentially behind-the-scenes footage combined with B-roll that’s been pressed into a feature length? I try not to pat myself on the back too much for what I do around here, but being able to squeeze out a lengthy-ish and informative review about this shit deserves credit (and that goes for everyone else who’s managed to do the same).

So, once again, let’s get into the basics first. For the uninitiated, ever since Jackass Number Two, the crew tend to shoot two films’ worth of material whenever they get back together, which then gets brought out either in the special features for home releases, or as their own separate .5 entry. And honestly, more so than with 2.5 and 3.5, the interview footage here really helps clarify why that much footage exists from these production sessions. Both from the old guard and from the newcomers, there’s a prevailing sense that this is some of the most fun shit they’ve ever been involved in (often literally), and just from a random gander at any given moment in this feature, it’s easy to see why that is.

And yet, that sense of glee that radiates off of the cast here is heavily tempered by a simple fact of the production aesthetic: If you’re on set for a film all about pulling pranks and causing blunt force trauma, you’re going to be on the firing line. Always. So, as the cast talks about how much fun they were having and how it felt like a big family in how well they gelled with each other, seeing them recollect what went down is like watching someone go through war flashbacks in real-time. What made it into the main film was already brutal enough (that pogo stick might be the greatest film villain of 2022), and with the new shit shown here, involving bowling balls, a giant baseball, and sushi, it definitely reinforces how fun, but also brutal, but also fun the shooting for this film was.

In that way, this might be the best .5 addition to the franchise thus far (there’s talk of a new TV show already in the works, so who knows? Maybe they’ll actually keep going). Rather than being merely a compilation of deleted scenes peppered with just talking about what was shot, this works as a proper coda to the larger film, giving perspective to what is shown and even clearing up a few things, like how the COVID breakout affected production in a number of ways, or how Johnny Knoxville’s hair went white mid-production.

I can’t say that this is as good as the main entry, as there’s nothing here that measures up to the joyous insanity of that Cockzilla opening (which also gets some BTS fleshing-out here), but I’d still consider it essential viewing for directly after Jackass Forever. Although, bear in mind, I thought I had hit another ceiling of desensitisation after the last one, and yet they found another new high point. I literally cannot remember the last time a film actually made me gag while watching it.