Jackass Forever

Ok… so if you’re strapped-in uncomfortably, I’ll begin.

Once upon a time, back in the eighties, there was this Japanese game show called Banzai where contestants had all kinds of sick stuff done to them like worms dropped on their faces whilst the TV host screamed “Banzai!” Fast forward to now and you have I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here with its bush tucker trials and queasy torture is pretty much a staple of everything. 

Jackass is like that but different.” With a team of rotating friends. Born at the time when viral videos were the new big thing, a group of lads knocking the hell out of their genitals or being shot into cow dung was a big deal. Their videos got shared and the Jackass brand got upgraded into feature films. 11 years on since they started, has Jimmy Knoxville and the boys got anything left to offer us? 

… is Jackass’s charm stuck behind a pram well past its sell-by date?

Well… it seems even frat boys grow up. Or to put it more exactly, the miles have caught up and Jackass Forever delivers everything you expect it to – but sadly nothing else. So, will Jacckass Forever take their audience with them into pastures news or is Jackass’s charm stuck behind a pram past its sell-by date?

The truth is, after 11 years, any shock value is gone and the contestants (like Jimmy Knoxville) have already diversified into straight acting roles and more statesman-like behaviours. As a result, this is an unashamed, final trip to the well to draw any water that might still be lurking at the bottom. 

If you liked what went before, well, then that’s what’s loudly coming at you now – and to its credit – Jackass Forever makes no apology for it. As the fourth installment in the Jackass film series, following on from Jackass 3D, you should fully expect the boys to be back again – even though this is porytrayed as a “last crusade”. 

The prospect of a zimmer-framed return to form is no more doubt than this franchises’s ongoing desire to twist your nipples, should you have forgotten about it.