Director
Jeff Tremaine
Cast
Johnny Knoxville
Steve-O
Chris Pontius
Wee-Man
Bam Margera
Ryan Dunn
Preston Lacy
Dave England
Ehren McGhehey
DVD Release Date: December 26, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 64 Minutes
The Movie
CKY, Jackass, Viva La Bam, Wildboyz, and probably a few other names can be attached to what these guys do for a living. They torture, maim, hurt, destroy, and humiliate their bodies in order to make one another and a few million people laugh. To them, pain and degradation is hilarious. And let’s be honest with ourselves here folks, we think so too. You know for a fact that if you saw someone walking around a slippery street after a rainstorm and they lost their balance and fell face first into a puddle of water that you’d laugh. Sure concern for their well-being is there too, but your reaction would probably be the same as mine. “HA HA HA HA…oh man buddy you alright?”
Therefore you see why the fellows behind the whole Jackass phenomenon would have trouble while shooting the television show and films. When the series was on the air, it was easier. If there was too much footage shot then they could simply put it into the next episode and then the next. Too much footage while shooting the films? No problem, that’s what the special features on DVDs are for. But when it came time to edit and cut the second film, they realized that they simply had too much leftover footage. What better way to get it out there, appease the fans, and also make a little extra cash then to release another DVD? Well, that’s what they did and so Jackass 2.5 was born.
This film is done in much the same way as everything so far has been done. Segments are introduced with a title and a very short to no introduction on what they’re going to be doing in it. It could be Wee-Man being a wee-matador, Bam shooting a meatball into his dad’s mouth with a slingshot, or the guys running through a Cajun-themed obstacle course. Quite simple in the formula, Jackass 2.5 figured to be nothing more then the same thing with different ideas. Not so as they changed up how things worked a bit this time around.
Sure the stunts are still there and completely outrageous, but now interviews with the cast members themselves were thrown in along the way. I really liked this change as it added a lot to a film that isn’t meant to require much thought. The cast members, director, and even the added guests that are sometimes joining in on the pranks discuss their favorite moments, how they felt while doing certain scenes, and whether it really was all worth it. Quite often all we get is a facial expression or the silent treatment and it is hard to get the entire idea of how the guys are feeling when they’re pranked. With the voiceovers and interviews, it brings things much closer to home.
It’s funny that they had so much footage left over from the second film because you think that they’d have to run out of ideas sooner or later. Johnny Knoxville has moved on to bigger films and stardom while the other guys aren’t doing too bad for themselves either, but they never forget their roots. They go to one another’s home and sit down to come up with ideas for stunts. They’ll call each other or make crude and simple drawings when something pops into their mind. And what makes this even funnier is that this film is put together of the “extra” footage or stunts that weren’t quite “good enough” to make it into the second film. Yet what you’ll see on this DVD is quite possibly some of the funniest things they’ve done to date.
As has been the warning since Jackass first came to be some eight years ago, don’t watch this if you have a weak stomach or no sense of humor. You’re going to witness some things that are extremely gross dealing with every type of bodily function known to man, and then some. People are going to be hurting themselves for no good reason other then to generate a couple laughs from their friends. Be prepared to witness some really good friends merely playing pranks on one another and seeing who can be hurt more. Teeth are knocked out. Midgets are gored by bulls. There is plenty of male nudity. But it simply wouldn’t be Jackass without any of that now would it?
The Video
The film is shown in Anamorphic Widescreen and as you probably know with Jackass, it is filmed with handhelds and hidden cameras so don’t expect much in terms of quality. Everything can be seen nicely though and it is as you may have come to expect from these guys.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and every single bone-crunching jolt and hit can be heard loud and clear. The dialogue is heard clearly most of the time except for the few moments they may have gotten out of ear shot of the cameras.
Special Features
The Making Of Jackass 2.5 – This is twenty-three and a half minutes of almost exactly the same thing you see in the main feature, but even more behind the scenes. Some of the segments, especially the King Kong with Preston segment, are dissected even more with interviews, preparation, and such. It’s all a lot of good footage that is incredibly funny and well worth checking out.
The Making Of Jackass The Game – Usually when a “making of” segment for a game is included on a DVD, it is simply to fill in some space and make it seem as if there are a lot more special features then there should be. They are most of the time incredibly boring and never worth watching. This is not one of those. Here is a twenty-one and a half minute feature about the Jackass game that is just as good as the television series’ episodes or the films. The guys are together in a warehouse studio to do some motion-capture movements that are classic and very funny.
Bonus Segments – Sixteen extra segments that add up to almost forty-five minutes of extra stuff. You can tell why some of these stunts were cut as they didn’t always work or generate nearly as many laughs as they probably expected. Also included is some added footage from segments in the second film that would have simply made them go on way too long. Good stuff though except for the bit on the marker-guy Wolfie which is incredibly boring.
Jackassworld.com – A simple text description of what the site is, nothing more.
Photo Gallery – A lot of still frame shots from the film and a little behind the scenes stuff.
Trailers – The Heartbreak Kid, Rob & Big: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2, and Wildboyz: The Complete Third And Fourth Seasons
The Inside Pulse
Considering how long I’ve been a fan of these guys, getting this one is a no-brainer. It is incredibly funny, destructive, grotesque, and gut-wrenching hilarious. Some of the stunts are just insane while others are more along the lines of purely comical. It’s just that when you think they couldn’t go and do anything to make what they do more interesting for those who like mindless humor; they went and made it even better. The new format used of showing the segments interlaced with interviews and thoughts from the cast made it that much more enjoyable to know exactly how much they went through mentally while their bodies were challenged physically. The feature itself is only a little over an hour but there is another hour and a half of good stuff in the special features making this a must-have for any fan or those just looking to get started with the Jackass guys. I seriously don’t even know why they cut some of this stuff out of the second film because it is just fantastic. And if you’re anything like me, then you’ll probably watch all of it a second time right after watching it a first. Welcome to Jackass!
