JACKASS: NUMBER TWO — * — Based on the MTV "extreme-prank" series, featuring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera and others; rated R (violence, vulgarity, nudity, profanity, gore, racial epithets).
When the first "Jackass" movie was released in 2002, I wrote that it was "possibly the most irresponsible picture ever released by a major film studio."
That honor — or dishonor — now belongs to "Jackass: Number Two," an even less funny and considerably more painful follow-up, which again sees Johnny Knoxville and his pals continuing to inflict pain on themselves and others.
While MTV's movie production arm and distributor Paramount Pictures are obviously responsible for inflicting this film on the public, the MPAA's ratings board should shoulder some of the blame for allowing it to get an R rating when it clearly deserves an NC-17.
And for those who might claim that both "Jackass" movies are simply a matter of taste, here's a listing of scenes from the sequel, so you can answer that question for yourself:
Vomiting, defecating and indulging in flatulence-based stunts.
Consuming horse feces and reproductive fluids.
Fishing for sharks, using fellow humans as bait.
Testing riot-suppression weapons on live human subjects.
As disgusting and reprehensible as these sequences might be, the actual low point of the film is the unfunny "terror-taxi" prank that exploits Arabic stereotypes.
In fact, the only thing that might be considered amusing in the entire film are scenes in which the irksome Bam Margera finally gets some comeuppance.
"Jackass: Number Two" is rated R for stunt and prank violence (including animal attacks, vehicular violence and explosive mayhem), crude humor and references to sexual and other bodily functions, full male nudity, strong sexual profanity, gore, and use of racial epithets. Running time: 83 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com