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).

Jackass Forever (2022) - Movie Review

As was likely the case for a lot of suburban Millennials growing up in the 2000s, Jackass ruled my world. We had the first film on VHS back in the day, and I got into it right around the time I discovered Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and I was dangerously hooked. I went and saw the second and third films when they came to cinemas, and I devoured the DVD box sets of the original show, Wildboyz, and Viva La Bam. It’s difficult to really put into words just how much fun it has been watching these guys keep finding new ways to hurt themselves and each other over the past two decades, but it is one of the most joyfully meaningless media franchises I have ever encountered (and I mean by design, not as a criticism of such things).

Which makes the prospect of writing a review for the newest theatrical release a bit daunting, since I usually spend my time on here diving into thematic ideas and how it relates to the world when it was released. I know I have a habit of chronic navel-gazing in my writings, but just how much writing material is there to be found in a film that is inherently plotless and not big on ideas beyond “Watch this guy and wince”?

Fist Fight (2017) - Movie Review

 

Seeing everything that I can at the cinemas means that, whether I like it or not, I’m gonna have to subject myself to crap. I’ve come to terms with that; it’s part of the “job” description and the hate I end up generating serves its own therapeutic purpose. However, today’s film is an odd one with that in mind… in that I have been actively putting off watching this thing for a while now.

 

Maybe it’s because I know how Ice Cube movies of late usually turn out, maybe it’s because I have already shown a certain dislike for most of Charlie Day’s live-action filmography, or maybe the trailer just looked like garbage from the premise alone. For whatever reason, I kept postponing going out to see this one. Of course, emulating the feeling of those anxiously waiting for the appointment for their emasculation, I just wanted to get it over and done with because I’m fairly certain that the wait is going to be far worse than the act itself. And speaking of intense pain, let’s get into this thing already