According to the Los Angeles Times, "Jackass 3D" grossed $50 million at the box office last weekend.
The film logged the highest-grossing weekend of all time for any movie opening in October, according to New York Magazine.
Seriously?
The 10-year-old "Jackass" franchise (which includes three TV seasons and three feature films) banks on the shock-value-inspired humor it delivers to audiences. There is never a plot, nor any logical flow from scene-to-scene.
In "Jackass 3D," there is plenty of unsolicited violence among cast members, including punches to the face and/or groin. There is also plenty of solicited pain and self-deprecation (which is even stranger), by way of jumping a jet-ski from a swimming pool onto a hill of dirt or having a tooth pulled with the force of a speeding Lamborghini.
Nevertheless, I found myself laughing, along with everyone else in the theater, at the sheer stupidity being carried out by the "Jackass 3D" cast. While laughing, I kept asking myself: "Why the hell is this idiotic shit so funny?"
A part of me believes that people find "Jackass" funny because it's incredibly brain-less, yet it's being played in an actual movie theater as an actual feature film. However, there must be something else, besides this irony, that contributes to the "humor" found in the franchise.
Would our parents find "Jackass" funny? There is no way I could see my mom and dad laughing at any point through out that film. Yet, I do recall countless occasions in which my dad has referenced "Jackass"-type scenes from one of his favorite childhood TV shows, "The Three Stooges."
Perhaps watching the inflicting of pain on unsuspecting victims is funny only to people who lack a certain level of maturity possessed by those who have grown older and wiser. I don't think my dad would find "The Three Stooges" funny if it had been released in the modern day. If this is the case, then a short glance at some Facebook status updates from my friends should show what some of us immature people are thinking about the new movie.
(Screenshot taken after "Jackass" was searched for in my Facebook friends' status updates)
It is just as I suspected: my friends are loving "Jackass 3D." Assuming that this love signifies the prevalence of sadism in my age group, I wonder if my classmates would find humor in a video of me belly-flopping onto concrete off of a flight of stairs.
For those who don't know me, I could see how this image might be funny. However, I'd hope that the 1 percent (give or take 1 percent) of my classmates who do know me would be concerned with my well-being.
Perhaps the key to the sadistic humor of "Jackass" is that the audience does not personally know the cast-members. Since we don't know Johnny Knoxville, why should we be concerned if he can't breathe after getting hit in the neck by a golf ball that he hit against a wall?
I have practically pulled out all of my hair trying to figure out why I find "Jackass 3D" funny, but I can't come up with an answer. Maybe the film just left me an all-around dumber person, unable to use logic and reason.
Please give me any feedback you may have, so that I can stop being a jackass and come up with some type of conclusion. Thanks.
jackass is just another example of classic physical humor... like tom and jerry, charlie chapman, mr. bean, or youtube videos like scarlet takes a tumble.... its the simple idea that what can go wrong will go wrong. except with jackass its not just someone slipping on a banana peel....it really pushes the limits and straddles the thin line between comedy and cruelty. i think its "ok" in most of our heads to find it funny because it is self inflicted with the intention to make us laugh. tone and intention are everything, its not what you do but how you do it. its easier to feel ok about laughing at someones misfortune if they're laughing at themselves along with you. it makes us feel guilty because laughing at someones pain and suffering is seen as lacking compassion in most circumstances, but i think there is a big difference between laughing at someones expense and simply not taking life too seriously. its hard to say why its our instinct to laugh at physical comedy but maybe its because it visually shows the vulnerability, imperfections, and human error that we can all relate to (at least to some degree). and its important to have the ability to laugh at yourself and can be a healthy coping method to be able to make light of crappy situations. its also something that has no language barrier. you don't have to speak the lingo to laugh when you see a video of someone on the other side of the world getting hit in the face with a pie. its universal and timeless.
ReplyDeletein conclusionnnn, i don't think you look like an asshole for finding the stunts on jackass funny. i think it would be hypocritical of me to suggest that since i find the idea of coyote from roadrunner blowing himself up with dynamite pver and over again HILARIOUS. yes ones a cartoon, and one is real life...but is it not the same concept of laughing at someone else's self inflicted pain?
I appreciate your humor. GREAT blog! I myself have not seen Jackass 3 but I've seen clips of old Jackass movies on MTV years ago. I personally am not a huge fan of this kind of stuff and don't really laugh out loud to a lot of their antics. Don't get me wrong, I don't think those who enjoy Jackass are jackasses. I just haven't enjoyed watching messy and painful things in the past. However, you've encouraged me to try again. If the opportunity arises to go see Jackass 3 I'll try it but I won't run out and see it on my own. Who knows, maybe I myself am the jackass for not trying it out.
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ReplyDeleteI think you are one of the few movie goers to look so deep into such a simple flick. Applaud yourself. The movie promotes a lack of thought by its audience members and here you go analyzing what a "kick to the groin" really means. Normally i would think this would be stupid, but it has now go me thinking to what is behind all the success of such a simple concept. Keep up the work, im loving the reviews
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