Jackass 3D - (October 15th, 2010): R
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #1 with $50,353,641
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $86,861,041
Gross Revenue: $90,362,464
Budget: $20 million
Director: Jeff Tremaine
From a marketing standpoint, the promotional tactics used by Paramount for Jackass 3D were surprisingly creative and aggressive, seeking to remind audiences that they actually enjoy the now-historic Jackass franchise. The first official image of this sequel actually surfaced on the Jackass Facebook page in late July, while Paramount and MTV films screened footage at a special event at San Diego’s Comic-Con 2010, allowing fans to meet the crew and start building positive buzz. As can be expected, the trailer premiered on channels frequented by the target audience (MTV, VH1, and Spike TV) and was attached to films like The Other Guys, The Expendables, or Machete, bringing wider recognition to the upcoming release. Individual members of the cast also made separate appearances on WWE Monday Night RAW, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and even the Howard Stern Show; while MTV aired a marathon of the original series and making-off documentaries, all geared to play-off the nostalgia and fond memories fans of the franchise might hold. Given the franchise’s consistent warnings to audiences not to try and replicate any of the stunts featured, I was a little surprised when Knoxville launched the Jackass 3D Prank Contest with the video guide website WonderHowTo, prompting fans to submit prank ideas for a chance to win a trip to Hollywood to shoot the prank with the cast; yet, there was no negative backlash from this promotion, and audiences seemed primed to see this familiar film series in a new format. Early critical and fan reception was very positive, and though I had been warned that one scene in particular was especially nauseating, I was still excited to purchase my 3D glasses and see what the Jackass crew had cooked up this time around.
At this point in my reviews I usually go over the plot of a given film, but in this case, a plot is nonexistent for Jackass 3D. Suffice to say, audiences simply watch the Jackass crew (Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, and Wee Man being the most famous), engage in various rude pranks and utterly idiotic stunts. My personal favorite was “Electric Avenue,” where, dressed as prisoners, the crew navigates down a hallway filled with active Tasers, cattle-prods, and various other stun-guns set to maximum voltage. Over the course of the film, we see Knoxville tackled by buffalo; Steve-O launched a hundred feet into the air while strapped into a full port-a-potty; and Wee Man attached to other cast members with superglue. If you have fond memories of the franchise, I’m sure you will enjoy the nostalgic value of watching this newest set of stunts and be reminded of why you like the franchise in the first place.
In the absence of acting or a plot, the humor of Jackass 3D is the biggest positive for fans of the franchise, but there are still some weak elements worth mentioning. In terms of the 3D technology, Phantom high speed cameras enabled the production crew to produce a number of scenes in hyper-slow motion, though the effects were largely confined to the opening and closing sequences and such pranks like “The Rocky,” where you sneak up behind someone, throw a glass of water in their face with one hand, and hit them as hard as you can with a boxing glove on the other hand. Though these scenes were impressive, I must admit though that I was expecting a few more of the stunts to actually jump out at the audience, so there were times that the technology felt underused. Now, there are considerable laughs in watching these guys hurt themselves, but the Jackass franchise is also known for gross-out humor, so I feel obligated to warn readers that there are scenes that will test your gag-reflex. I’ll put it to you this way, being a Resident Assistant for a year in college made me near-immune to the effects of vomit or nausea, but one scene in particular had me gagging in the theater. Yet, despite some of the grosser scenes and the perceived underuse of the available technology, Jackass 3D still delivered exactly what it promised audiences and did the franchise justice in this latest offering.
From a box-office perspective, Jackass 3D has been absolutely record-setting, bringing in just over $50 million its opening weekend and claiming the title for the most successful Fall opening ever, a distinction originally held by 2003’s Scary Movie 3. It seems that Paramount’s promotional tactics more than paid-off, essentially more-than doubling the production budget in one weekend and taking in an additional $21 million in its second weekend. As it turns out, the Jackass crew shot enough stunts to produce another film (Jackass 3.5) that was planned for a DVD release in January, but given the success of the original, this newest film may be granted a theatrical release. Even though Jackass 3D lost the top spot at the box-office to Paranormal Activity 2, I still expect word-of-mouth and critical reception to translate into a highly lucrative box-office run as audiences look for a humorous alternative during this Halloween season. Still, I must emphasize that this type of humor is not for everyone and that Jackass 3D more than earns its R-rating…if you like this kind of stuff, knock yourself out, but if you’re looking more family-friendly humor, you had better wait for Megamind next weekend.
Overall Recommendation: High
