Jackass: Number Two

Saw Jackass: Number Two. I was not amused. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it. I was worried, going in, that the film would be very cruel to innocent people, but most of the violence is meted out to the Jackassians and their parents (who, let's face it, are at least partly to blame.) There's only one scene, where they almost provoke some random guy into a fistfight. That scene I actually thought was the most transgressive and challenging. It makes me wonder what difficult material could have been, if only Harmony Korine (who is involved in this film) could have finished Fight Harm.

Anyway, most of the skits in the film are more shenanigans than pranks. At one point they just skateboard straight into a piece of plexiglass, later they put a fart-helmet on some dude and pretend to fart into it, prompting the guy to fake-vomit. They are funny in a sort of awful teenage way. I didn't like however that about 50% of the film is just people introducing themselves or laughing like idiots. Maybe all of the best stuff was in the first film? I really liked the big-finish ending however.

People have written about the homoeroticism of Jackass and oh lordy that ending. That there is some well-researched faggotry. A show-stopping musical number in the vein of Busby Berkeley, all singing a song from the musical La Cage Aux Foles (remade in the US as The Birdcage. Une comedie tres gay indeed) as the castmembers cycle through the costumes of construction-crew men, firemen, and cowboys (only a few costume changes away from The Village People!) One guy strips to reveal a patriotic thong and bowtie. And then there's Rip Taylor, putting the ribbon on top of this cake of camp at the very end.

Apart from the ending however, it was all in all a regrettable experience. It had some interesting moments, but felt a lot like hanging out with a bunch of teenage boys. It's all laughing at their own jokes and gross-out humor which is, okay, gross but not all that bad. There are a few moments when it transcends itself and becomes this more awesome and intersting and almost sinister thing but not often. I didn't hate it as much I thought I would, and I guess that's an endorsement coming from me.