‘Jackass: Best and Last’ Review – One Last Hurrah Full of Pain & Laughs

Somehow and some way, the Jackass crew has made a fortune out of their own pain, misfortune, and hijinks. When the show originally premiered on MTV back in 2000, it lasted for three relatively short seasons, but that was enough time for the antics of the ragtag team of stunt performers and pranksters to leave their mark. Created by Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, and Johnny Knoxville, Jackass became a phenomenon mixing pain-inducing stunts and pranks that made its participants, among them, Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, Steve-O, Dave England, “Danger Ehren” McGhehey, Jason “Wee Man” Acuna, Preston Lacy, and Brandon DiCamillo, into stars for simply being themselves doing outrageous things. It all seemed ridiculous yet endearing as it all became a media franchise that included spinoff shows (Wildboyz and Viva La Bam) and six feature films that have grossed over $536 million globally on very minuscule budgets.

It’s interesting being at an age to realize that the primary members of this crew were in their 20s and early 30s when the show started. Back then, there was likely a level of invincibility that came with being young, and the fortune they began to make probably didn’t hurt either. However, for anyone dealing with growing pains, it came with a series of losses and addictions that they’ve endured, and, as they got older, the mayhem came with a bit of maturity. With 2022’s Jackass: Forever, the crew brought in new members who seemed destined to carry this all on if they wanted to keep the brand going. However, with Jackass: Best and Last, which is a mix of old and new hijinks plus more behind-the-scenes moments, it seems like the primary function of this greatest hits compilation remixed with new footage is to give this reality slapstick franchise the proper send-off. For any controversies that have surrounded it over the years (mostly over the potential encouragement to reproduce their dangerous behavior), there is no denying that Jackass has been a significant aspect of pop culture over the years, especially as it was being shaped in the 2000s. For that alone, it deserves credit for turning this brand of debauchery into something that has given fans genuine laughs and introduced us to a cast of characters who may not have been polished, but they were undeniably real and likable.

Jackass: Best and Last serves as what is believed to be the final to be the final installment of what has become a pop cultural staple. The film is an acknowledgment that the core group has gotten older and can’t put their bodies through all of this pain and torture anymore, even for laughs. The film’s opening credits offer a fun jab at the very fact that age has hit the crew as they “dance” to Jamiroquai and “Virtual Insanity,” which doesn’t really require a ton of movement that would break any hips. The opening used to introduce the cast and assault them with some kind of blunt force, but with age comes change, and they’ve figured out to turn that change into something that can still generate a laugh.

Having some of the set pieces involve age in some way is intentional. Following the opening credits, we got a prostate exam administered by a robot, and another moment sees the crew chugging the liquid one would consume for a colonoscopy that turns into a game of Twister, where the smells would prevent the best of us from focusing on the game. Creators Tremaine and Knoxville exclaim that “this is what Jackass looks like at 50,” and kudos to them for figuring out how to maintain the essence of the brand as they have gotten older without selling some of the gags short. They’re still suitably gross and enough to make you wince, yet laugh by the end.

It should be noted that while there are new antics on display, Jackass: Best and Last is more of a big-screen celebration of what has been. Even though the newbies introduced in Jackass: Forever, including Zach Holmes, Sean “Poopies” McInerney, Jasper Dolphin, Eric Manaka, and Rachel Wolfson, are on hand for new tricks and some of the more painful stunts the older crew can’t do anymore, the film is a surprisingly effective look back at what has been. The snippets and full-on replays are taken from the show and past films. Some get the full treatment, such as the abduction of Brad Pitt in 2002, which has made news again because Margera revealed recently that his then lady love, Jennifer Aniston, was none too pleased about it. We also get full rehashes from the films, like the “Poo Cocktail Supreme” from Jackass: 3D, still the highest-grossing of the film franchise. Other moments are shown more in snippets, similar to the 0.5 entries they would release as what didn’t make the final product, as a gift to the fans.

What’s interesting is that even though this is being marketed as “the end,” there are still new members that could carry this one via a new TV show or film. The Forever crew was well-received, and they continue to feel like a part of the gang that has been there from the start, although, sadly, Wolfson, as the lone female performer, really has nothing to do, which is a shame because she has proven to be charming and funny. Perhaps the caveat here is that even though they have done some game stuff for the cause, they do lack some of the genuine fervor and craziness that the original castmates have for this kind of stuff. It’s a craziness that has united this group through a very absurd but memorable process, but what the film does surprisingly well during one moment is bring up the concept of mortality.

Knoxville, who has been the primary face of the franchise due to his willingness to go all out and his crossover appeal into feature films over the years, is faced with the life-and-death reveal that one more severe head injury could be his very end. The audience gets laughs from watching Knoxville step into a ring with a bull whose intention is to crack his skull open, but even as the audience wants these laughs, they have also come to love this crazy bunch and wouldn’t want any of them to go out in such a fashion. It’s a really wacky relationship between the entertainers and the viewers consuming it, but it’s a relationship that is understood with some kind of non-traditional respect.

At its core, though, Jackass has always been about the male friendships that have shaped all of this. In the midst of drinking excrement, head injuries, penis gags, and more, there is a unity amongst this group that feels palpable. We’ve watched Steve-O go from addiction to sobriety across the show and the films, and watch as his maturity determined what stunts he would do and not have any judgment from his fellow castmates and friends because they have also grown with him. The archival footage in Best and Last tracks the growth of everyone involved, primarily, to the point where they have enforced an on-set sobriety pact to not only ensure safety but also respect the changing nature of everyone involved. They’re fully aware that, should you want to see the crazier stuff from the past, it’s easily accessible, and they don’t have to put themselves through it anymore.

Jackass: Best and Last is a worthy celebration of such an unusual brand that took the world by storm and introduced us to a band of misfits that anyone watching could relate to, even if they may not have felt like the case going in. They’ve made us laugh and turn away from the screen with the utmost enthusiasm, and after years of doing that, it’s very much fair that they get to enjoy their lives and bodies without pain, but still revel in the fact that they left audiences with something that surely won’t be forgotten.

Jackass: Best and Last is not playing in theaters nationwide, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.