DVD Review: Jackass 2.5

December 28, 2007

Writer: Preston Lacy
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Preston Lacy, Bam Margera, Vincent Margera, Chris Pontius
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 26, 2007

I understand the popularity of Jackass. The idea that a bunch of idiots are doing potentially dangerous stunts for laughs can be quite amusing. My interest in Jackass really depends on the day. I have had some laughs off of the first movie, but I never decided to look up the second. When I heard about Jackass 2.5 I did not find myself overly interested.

There is just something wrong with picking up pieces of an old movie off of the cutting room floor to make a new movie. Can you imagine if they would have done that with some of the high quality movies that have been made? I honestly doubt that anyone would spend any time or money on Gone with the Wind 1.5, There’s something about Mary .75, or god forbid, Stuck on You 1.25. No one would watch them and if they did one can only imagine what the critics would bother saying.

This is kind of the idea behind Jackass 2.5. It’s a sloppily thrown together movie that was meant to keep the attraction going without actually taking the time to film a new movie. Apparently, someone thought that scraps would be good enough. Unfortunately, I don’t think it turned out as well as they might have hoped.

Release Information:
Jackass 2.5 was released on December 26, 2007 on standard DVD. This DVD includes the initial movie/stunts and several special features that will be talked about in more detail in the section below. You can purchase this DVD just about anywhere including many online stores. On Amazon you can find this DVD for $19.99.

The Jackass 2.5 Plot
Jackass 2.5 is what I like to call a potential cash cow DVD. The Jackass franchise is huge. The first one made money and the second one was just as popular, if not more. So, the natural thing to do was to find anything that could be used to make a third DVD without having to go out and shoot new material. This meant that many of the things that didn’t make it into Jackass Number Two were strewn together and tossed into Jackass 2.5. It’s cheap when you think of the things that some people will do to make money. I do not agree that this is the right way to make films, but then I have more respect for the industry thwn to assume that sloppy products that were intended edits should become feature films for the sake of someone’s pocketbook.

The actual skits and Jackass fare last for about an hour. In that time, the crew discusses portions of Number Two. There are some mildly funny skits on here and then there are skits that are so incredibly bad (more of them than the other variety) that the crew even acknowledge how truly miserable these are. Of course, these are actually on the DVD so you are left watching what should essentially be deemed as unnecessary crap. These skits aren’t shocking, funny, or interesting. They are the kind of skits that make your mind wander to the kind of skits that you would like to make them perform for making you suffer through such crap.

All of the skits on here are new, but the fact that they acknowledge some of them are good and others are bad makes it seem more about a creative process into the lives of those who are the Jackass crew, rather than an actual collection of worthwhile skits. While some will like this, I was not overly interested and found myself wanting to watch the clock more than I did my television. How much you like this will ultimately depend on how into the Jackass movies you are.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
The audio and video qualities are impossible to gauge on a traditional scale because various cameras are used in order to get the right shot at the right time for each stunt. The listed quality is anamorphic widescreen with a 1.85:1 transfer. The image goes from being incredibly clear to an image that is filled with noise and blur based on the scene. The same can be said for the audio. The original, listed quality is Dolby Digital stereo. It’s standard or lower in quality, but at the end, it gets the job done for this release.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are various bonus features available here for fans of this franchise. Some of the typical options include trailers, photo galleries, links to the Jackass World website, and three other more detailed features. The Making of Jackass 2.5 has the performers explaining why the skits on this DVD were not placed on the last one. It’s pretty repetitive so I am not sure why this was necessary, but it made the list regardless.

Next comes, The Making of Jackass: The Game, which is a halfway decent feature if you like goofing around with games. The final feature offers footage of stunts that were not working for the movies. I’m not sure the purposes of letting you see more messed up stunts, but if you want to see them they are here and waiting for you.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Jackass 2.5 is a cheap way to make a quick buck. It’s not traditional in terms of the other Jackass movies. Instead, it’s a varied mix of potentially funny and completely boring skits. Fans of the series will probably want this for their collection, but I highly recommend that everyone else skip this or rent it before buying it, just in case they think it sucks as much as I do.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Jackass 2.5, Comedy, Stupid, Violent, DVD, Standard DVD, DVD Review

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