I've been known to really enjoy Jackass because not only is it amusing to watch, but it's like a series of failures or bloopers compiled into a film. After being hit or injured, their only response is laughter. Like that was what they wanted to achieve. Jackass 3D was released in 2010, and like with the previous installment, a Direct-to-DVD "film" was released that included all the unused stunts that were originally cut for the film.
Jackass 3.5 was clearly released without the care and attention put to the previous film. There is no consistency. Usually in Jackass films some of the best stunts are in the middle with the big opening and the grand finale to end it off. This one is at a very slim and slender eighty-four minutes and just packs some of the mildest Jackass has ever offered. A lot of it is funny, but not a lot is very elaborate or clever.
We get Wee-Man painted into a wall, the secretary nearly peeing herself after a train horn being installed in her office goes off, and way too many kicks in the nuts. We get little random five second clips, but the most interesting is when the jackasses are face to face with the camera discussing stunts and how it is to be a jackass. Bam says it's fifty-fifty most of the time. Saying fifty percent of the time it's "fun as hell" with the remaining fifty being "anxiety and paranoia" about what will happen next. They're interesting, but not long enough to deem my satisfaction.
My two favorite stunts were "Bombs Away!" and "The Fire Gauntlet." "Bombs Away!" is when the gang fills two liter bottles of diet coke with peppermint candies and then throws them, full force, at the ground to cause a loud and messy explosion. I'm surprised my buddies and I haven't killed ourselves doing that. "The Fire Guantlet" I refuse to talk about. I want you to have the same jaw dropping reaction I did.
Heavily hyped, but ultimately lacking in cutting edge stunts and gags, Jackass 3.5 shows not much more than the movie. What was cut was made for the best because nothing here should've been in the movie, besides "The Fire Gauntlet." I did like how we saw the castmates hit and beat up on each other frequently. Maybe a spin off series will be called Jerkoff where the aged Jackasses beat up on their friends. That would be an interesting second chapter.
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, Ehren McGhehey, Dave England, Preston Lacy, and Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña. Directed by: Jeff Tremaine.
