Movie Review: Jackass Forever

I've admittingly never really spent much time with the Jackass franchise growing up. I'd watch it if it was on, but I never went out of my way to watch them myself. The premise behind it seems simple enough to enjoy; a bunch of silly and reckless friends band together and just put themselves is mad and dangerous situations to see each others reactions. The reckless behaviour and brotherly comradery is the cornerstone of any close-knit group of friends so I can appreciate why this franchise resonated with so many people throughout the years and kept on going for so long. 

It's through this longevity that Jackass Forever finds it's core strength. Set nearly 12 years after their last outing in Jackass 3-D, Jackass Forever reunites most of the core Jackass gang back together to continue doing what they always did best, except this time they're joined by some new generation additions and celebrity cameos. There's no ongoing narrative or objective behind the film, it's premise is quite simply reuniting and continuing to do what they always did best. That simple scope is what always brought people to Jackass and I wouldn't expect anything more than that. I think what some fans may appreciate about Forever however is how reflective it feels on not just the Jackass crew's lives in the franchise, but in it's fanbase growing up with it. Seeing all these age-old friends reunite after so long is a easy feeling to resonate with and there's a surprisingly poignant tone all throughout the movie that despite the passage of time, the core concept of Jackass and the friendships behind it never faltered.

The structure of the film is simple too, it's just a large sequence of pranks set back to back from beginning to end. There's not much in terms of interviews or retrospectives as I imagine the crew knew the fanbase wanted to just get back to what they loved. The scale and practicality of these pranks range notably as well. I like how there's no predictability to the pattern of these pranks either. There's just as many large scale, complicated set-ups as there are quick 15 second gag clips too. Variety is the spice of life and it's applied so well into the movies output. With the time that's passed you'd be forgiven for worrying the gang may have matured up in some aspects but the range of their pranks reflect the immaturity they are so beloved for. Puking, farting, bleeding, bone braking are all par for the course in any Jackass film and it's all still here 12 years later. 

I imagine if I was a bigger fan of the franchise growing up, this film may have resonated with me on a much more emotional level. Saying that however, I still appreciated the intent and overall output from Jackass Forever. Nostalgia is a heavy concept being utilised in the film industry right now and choosing to bring back Jackass after so long seems like a very clear and clever choice. Fundamentally Jackass can be interpreted as more than just a franchise, it's a mantra, a representation of the ties that bind a group of friends and reminds them of ludicrous love they have for one another. I guess in retrospect, like these friendships, it was an appropriate choice to call this film Jackass Forever.