How do you even review this? If you've spent the last two and a half decades living under a rock, the Jackass series is essentially a bunch of guys doing stupid shit, originating on MTV in the early 2000s before the first film released in 2002. It was followed by Jackass Number Two and Jackass 3D in 2006 and 2010 respectively, before sitting on hiatus for over a decade. The gang came back in 2022 with Jackass Forever, a film that brought in new members to the iconic cast and delivered some of the series' best moments. With the main crew now mostly into their 50s, it's pretty clear they can't keep pushing themselves too far anymore, so now we get what looks to be the grand finale to the series with Jackass: Best and Last.
The cast includes the fearless ringleader Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Danger Ehren, Dave England, Wee-Man, and Preston Lacy. Joining them once again are the Jackass Forever additions, Poopies, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, and Rachel Wolfson. We also get some great guest appearances from Paul Walter Hauser and Tory from Mythbusters, as well as archival footage featuring Bam Margera, the late Ryan Dunn, and in what was a big surprise to me: Brad Pitt.
This is certainly the least insane film in terms of the stunts, but it makes up for it with a lot of great old footage spliced in with the new stuff. We get some great stuff with the late Ryan Dunn, specifically a bit where he has a toy car shoved up where the sun don't shine and then goes for an x-ray. There are also some bits that apparently weren't allowed to be shown on MTV including a great bit where Knoxville dresses as an escaped convict and goes into a hardware store trying to cut his handcuffs off.
There are still some great new bits, I kind of loved the way they leaned into jokes about their age with a robot prostate exam and a sequence where they chug a bunch of laxatives and play twister, but it really is the mix of the old and new that make this one work. At it's core this is a bunch of guys doing stupid things, but there is a shell of sentimentality with this seemingly being the last film. As much as I'm sure the guys are happy to not be constantly hit in the nuts or covered in shit, these are movies about a bunch of friends making each other laugh, and you can feel the lingering sadness at this being the last rodeo. So while the film doesn't bring a ton of new material, it works as a strangely touching sendoff for these guys that have spent over 25 years making people laugh and cringe.
If you don't care about Jackass this isn't going to be the one that wins you over, but for anyone who enjoys these idiots putting themselves through hell (I for one love watching these idiots do stupid things), this is a really solid conclusion. 3.5/5
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