It's difficult to believe and almost impossible to deny the kind of impact that nine guys doing dumb shit for laughs has had on the landscape of pop culture. What seems even less likely than something called Jackass becoming an enduring franchise of feature films, is the idea that most of the same players have and continue to make a run of it for more than two decades.
With the arrival of the fourth feature film in Jackass Forever in theaters February 4th, Johnny Knoxville along with director Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze have crafted a succession of films that have left an indelible mark on a generation. What resonates as especially impressive however, is the kind of broad appeal the premise of the first MTV show and then the subsequent movies had and continue to have. Everyone loves Jackass and even if they find it hard to watch, they readily admit, it's impossible to look away.
Ahead of what will likely be the finale of the franchise, here is a look back at some of the stunts, spectacle, and sheer stupidity that has made Jackass the wildest ride at movies.
‘Paper Cuts’ (Jackass: The Movie)
So simple and yet still so hard to watch or even listen to, Paper Cuts is just Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O getting paper cuts in terrible locations while hanging in their hotel room. Who has it worse is up to you: Knoxville gets sliced in the webs between his fingers and toes while Steve-O gets the sides of his mouth it on the tongue. I shudder just thinking about it.
‘Electric Avenue’ (Jackass 3D)
A hallway filled with stun guns and cattle prods is the only thing in the way of the Jackass crew (dressed as prison inmates) and freedom. It's impossible to not get the shock of a lifetime while trying to make it through, and seeing the poor victims of this stunt flail around as they're repeatedly hit all over is almost as great as the reactions after it's over. One of the most genuinely "I'm never doing that again" moments of the entire franchise.
‘Puppet Show’ (Jackass Number Two)
The second Jackass movie gets right down to it, as the first stunt right out of the gate is poor Chris Pontius putting on a puppet show with his schlong as the star. His co-star? A scared and agitated snake that doesn’t wait too long before biting Chris directly on the head - and not the one with his brain in it.
‘Off-Road Tattoo’ (Jackass: The Movie)
The end result of this stunt looks as brutal as can be. With the premise being funny tattoos, Steve-O is supposed to sit through a session with the end result being a smiley face tattoo on his arm - only this tattoo is happening while in the back of a moving Humvee. With Henry Rollins behind the wheel, talking shit and gunning it over tons of bumps and rough terrain - You can guess how well that smiley face tattoo turns out.
‘The Cup Test’ (Jackass Forever)
No one has it worse in the newest film than Ehren McGhehey. Look no further than this series of tests that he puts himself through in order to test the defensive power of an athletic cup - Ehren take directs shots to the groin from UFC Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, a professional hockey player, and much worse. The aftermath of his destroyed genitals is one of the franchise's most jaw-dropping moments.
(For reference, Ngannou holds the record for the hardest punch ever landed at 129,161 units. That is the equivalent of 96 horsepower.)
‘Sweatsuit Cocktail’ (Jackass 3D)
This is the one that's never left my brain from the first time it made my dry heave. Preston Lacy (while being observed by BMX legend Matt Hoffman) exercises while covered in a special bag that catches all of his sweat (from every orifice) and then has it go through a connecting tube into a cup. After wringing as much sweat out of it as he possibly can, Steve-O then drinks the cup. What happens next is a whole sick mess - you've gotta have an iron stomach to get through this one.
‘The Brand’ (Jackass Number Two)
One of the most immediately harmful, gnarliest, and stupidest stunts is done by Bam Margera in the second movie where he willingly gets his bare ass branded by a hot iron. When Bam is unable to hold still at the start, it causes him to get branded multiple times across the cheeks before he finally scurries to soak it in water. After a few days, he shows off the mark to his parents and it's a horrendous and infected mess, but still unmistakingly - what else? - a penis.
‘Department Store Boxing’ (Jackass: The Movie)
Knoxville gets his ass beat in a boxing match against heavyweight champion boxer Butterbean, plain and simple. What makes this stunt so memorable is Knoxville's unwillingness to go down until it's finally too late and he's knocked unconscious, leading to a concussion and a stay in the hospital. But upon first waking on the floor of the department store the two chose as their boxing ring, Knoxville only asks "Is Butterbean okay?" and it's hard to think of a wittier quip to come from the master after such a savage beatdown.
‘The Fish Hook’ (Jackass Number Two)
Steve-O pierces through his own face with a fish hook before going swimming with sharks in the Gulf of Mexico, but it really is that first part of this stunt that is just unbelievable to watch. Steve-O immediately goes for it, jamming the sharp point of the hook into his mouth to force it to poke through, and the struggle to make it happen while he yells in concentrated pain is easily one of the most insane moments of self-mutilation Jackass has ever had.
‘How to Milk a Horse’ (Jackass Number Two)
A truly shameful (or shameless) one right here. Knoxville, Chris Pontius and Steve-O assist in collecting an all-too-large sperm sample from a stud horse that's in the heat of the moment. That would be enough, but it's what happens after the horse semen has been gathered that things go much too far. Chris, fearless and insane, goes ahead and takes a hearty swig of the stuff, and then...actually no, that's enough, I'm sick now.
'Dick Beehive' (Jackass Forever)
There are plenty of stunts involving bees and many, many stings throughout the Jackass franchise, but the latest movie takes the cake easily. A completely naked Steve-O places a box containing the queen bee on his penis, causing the entirety of the hive to swarm all over his genitals and unleash an innumerable amount of stings to the very worst places. It's a miracle Steve-O is able to keep standing there as long as he does, because it is some brutal stuff.
‘Poo Cocktail Supreme’ (Jackass 3D)
Arguably the grossest stunt that the gang has ever done (definitely one of the best engineered) the dreaded Poo Cocktail Supreme mixes shit, piss, vomit, and bodily harm to create one hell of a finale in the franchise's third outing. Steve-O is strapped into a porta-potty filled to the brim with dogshit and then launched into the air via bungee cords, covering him in everything and spraying the ground below. It's disgusting in nearly every possible way, and not a single person involved is able to get away without at least having a gagging fit.
‘The Magic Trick’ (Jackass Forever)
This is the infamous stunt that sent Knoxville back to the hospital once again with some of his most serious injuries yet. The Magic Trick seems to have a bit more to it than we get to see, as Knoxville dresses up as a magician in the middle of a bull ring, but before he gets to the actual act, the bull slams into him and sends him flying. It's obvious right away that he's hurt and hurt bad, but the master of ceremonies proves to be basically unkillable, even in middle age. He's the king for a reason, and even if this is indeed his final time putting his mind and body through the wringer, it's one hell of a way to go out.
Jackass Forever arrives in theaters everywhere February 4th via Paramount Pictures.
