I almost threw up while watching "Jackass: Number Two." Yes, it was that good.
The funniest movie of the year - and perhaps ever - overwhelmingly succeeds in pulling off what too many comedies have attempted and failed: not having a plot. Unlike bore fests like "Beerfest," not a single scene must tie in with another, and entire bits can be just a few seconds long.
In case there is someone out there unfamiliar with the series, "Jackass" is about 95 minutes of continuous stunts, mostly involving bodily fluids and injuries. A good analogy would be "America's Funniest Home Videos" if that show didn't suck.
Various animals give pretty-boy Johnny Knoxville some overdue punishment for starring in a film with Jessica Simpson; Steve-O takes doing gross things to his body to the next level; Bam Margera freaks his mom out some more; Chris Pontius shows surprisingly little of himself in a thong; And "Wee Man" Jason Acuna finally gives the world a view of his, uhh, "weenis."
Some of the stunts include wrestling anacondas in tribute to Samuel L. Jackson, visiting an Indian leech-healer, milking a male horse, and kicking each other in the nuts a lot.
Tony Hawk shows up in an unsurprising cameo to once again remind us that he is still cool and relevant, but the real celebrity gold here is Jay Chandrasekhar - the only funny character from "Beerfest" - who plays a key role as a taxi driver in the final psych-out of cast member Ehren McGhehey. Ashton Kutcher never Punk'd quite like this before.
The only thing keeping me from giving this movie a perfect five-pitchfork rating is the abundance of male nudity. Seriously, you could watch gay porn and see less ass. How is it that the most risque female nudity in Hollywood consists of a quick "Basic Instinct" crotch flash, yet I can get full on manhood seared into my brain? For shame.
Penalized for excessive male nudity, "Jackass: Number Two" gets 4 pitchforks out of 5.
Reach the reporter at michael.chichester@asu.edu.
