Written by Jack Ransom
12 years we waited, and just when the world needed them most, they finally returned. Jackass Forever sees (most of) the original crew return to punish themselves for our amusement, as well as bringing in new faces to help with their alleged final outing.
As excited as I was for this there was an element of fear that it simply wouldn’t feel the same without Bam Margera and of course the late Ryan Dunn (who gets a nice tribute here). However, those doubts were quickly quashed when the opening credits sequence began and Chris Pontius’ ‘Knobzilla’ crashed into view sending the rest of the gang flailing, exploding and inevitably covered in liquid made of God knows what.
Jackass has largely been a franchise that you either get or don’t (I even had one person leave my screening around the 45 minute mark), and this fourth instalment is no different. 96 minutes of puerile genius that absolutely proves that age is just a number and the whole schtick is essentially timeless. If anything, the COVID limitations on the production motivated the gang’s creativity even more (with the majority of the film being shot on the Paramount backlot) and allowed them to craft a simultaneously fresh and simpler nostalgia laced outing.
Without spoiling details, many of the skits on display here will go down in franchise history as being some of the best. The Silence of the Lambs sequence is absolute genius and had me crying with laughter. The amount of dong destruction is in the stratosphere (with everything from bees to pogo-sticks), the animals and creepy crawlies get a huge amount of the spotlight, as do the usual suspects of vomit, blood and poop.
The sense of camaraderie is as infectious as expected and even with two notable absences the crew feels as tight-knit and family centric as ever. Knoxville is still a great ringleader, Steve-O brings the extreme, Pontius the nudity, Dave the bowel movements, Preston & Wee-Man a great contrasting double act and of course there’s the group ‘whipping boy’ Ehren, who goes through absolute hell in this instalment. Newcomers Zach Holmes, Eric Manaka and Poopies are all great additions, comedian Rachel Wolfson’s inclusion brings a welcome new energy to the group and proves that the Jackass family was never just for the dudes and Jasper and his dad ‘Darkshark’ also literally add to the family dynamic of the series.
Jackass Forever is exactly what fans have been waiting for for over 10 years. Riotous, shocking, hysterical and incredibly wholesome. There is no holding back or dumbing down here at all (despite the majority of the gang being nearly or over 50) and the spirit of friendship, family and the franchise legacy stands tall. Also you get to see a fart explode underwater. What more do you want?
STAR RATING
