After more than 25 years, which has included a two-season MTV show, four standalone movies that were all followed by enhanced versions, and one spinoff, the Jackass franchise finally comes to an end—allegedly—with the Jackass: Best and Last.
A combination of new material and highlights from the stunt-and-prank franchise’s history, the new movie isn’t defensible on its own merits; at times, it’s like a retrospective prime-time special, or possibly a series of DVD extras. I might’ve liked it better if the final film had been more of a full-on documentary about Jackass’ history, and the last stretch seems to drag on forever. Jackass: Best and Last has more endings than the war with Iran.
But I still had a great time watching it. Much has been written, especially in the last few years, about how the Jackass guys have demonstrated positive male friendship and non-toxic masculinity, even as they were never darlings of the cultural elite during their first couple of decades. You can’t deny that their camaraderie remains strong.
The original personnel of the Jackass crew are now all past 50, and some of them have the physical profile of retired NFL players, including concussions and high-profile drug dependencies. One, Steve-O, has done unimaginable damage to his penis and testicles over the years, and that continues with the new film.
The ringleader, Johnny Knoxville, suffered an injury in a bull riding stunt for the previous film, 2021’s Jackass Forever, that ended his career of physical stunts. So in the new bits, there’s more of an emphasis on psychological than physical torture. And as a concession to their age, there are several sections focused on rectal exams and colonoscopies.
One example is a bit in which the cast members are in a night vision escape room. A version appeared in Jackass Forever, but now it’s been expanded to include Bam Margera. The estranged cast member, after years of battling addiction, has been out of the main Jackass crew, although he reached an agreement to appear in already-filmed footage. Bam’s absence has also meant none of his West Chester, PA, colleagues, mainstays like Brandon Dicamillo, Rake Yohn and Raab Himself, have been in the last couple of movies either.
Jeff Tremaine, as always, is the director, and he has more of an on-camera role than usual; there’s plenty of Lance, the cameraman who’s frequently driven by the stunts to on-screen vomiting. As for the old clips, they’re well-chosen, including never-before-seen early stuff like Knoxville shooting himself with a gun, and a scene in which he broke into a hardware store dressed as an escaped convict. You can tell which clips are from the MTV show by the boxy aspect ratio. But the film also plays the hits, featuring classics like the golf-course airhorn and the late Ryan Dunn putting a toy car up his ass.
The worst bit, as always, is when Knoxville dresses as an old man. The crew added some new members for the fourth film, and most of them don’t get much to do, with stand-up comedian Rachel Wolfson, the first female cast member, mostly on the periphery.