‘Jackass 3-D’ has same old stunts, new dimension

Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass crew are back with a new dimension added to their captivating sadomasochistic stunts, pranks and downright stupid acts.

"Jackass 3-D" showcases too much male genitalia and human waste, even for their standards, but it also provides some of the most painful, disgusting and hilarious stunts in the history of the franchise.

Some of the nudity is nothing more than crude, such as the point-of-view shots of Bam Margera sneaking up and urinating on people. Others were a creative use of 3-D, like the "Heli-cockter" stunt. As juvenile as it makes the viewer feel, they are all funny.

The "Lamborghini Tooth Pull" stunt is one of the most painful and most disgusting scenes in the movie. It is exactly what it sounds like. One end of a string is tied to a Lamborghini, the other end to a man's tooth. The result is a man crying and some of the only blood seen in the movie.

They recruited NFL players for a couple of stunts, brining in Seahawks kicker Josh Brown and Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

In a stunt titled "The Blindside," Allen flattened Knoxville with several bone-crushing hits. After cast member Preston Lacey painted himself like a goalpost, Brown sent him to the ground with a ball kicked straight into the crossbar that was his face.

Several scenes featured the aggression of animals including Knoxville's unsuccessful attempt to hide in camouflage from a bull. There was also Margera's tearful encounter with a pit of snakes, Steve-O's game of tetherball with a nest of Africanized bees and a game of pin the tail on a live donkey.

The most painful scene had to be the hallway of 950,000-volt stun guns that several members sprinted through, each receiving at least one zap.

Steve-O was featured in the two most disgusting scenes, each of which truly tests the gag reflex. A cameraman and several cast members vomited during a stunt called "Sweatsuit Cocktail." Even the patron behind me in the theater claimed multiple times during the scene that he was going to vomit. Thankfully he was mistaken. Steve-O was also featured in "Poo Cocktail Supreme" where he was strapped into a loaded Porta Potty rigged with bungee cords and sent flying through the air.

Based on the history of the participants and the insanity of stunts performed, it's hard to believe they were not under the influence in some way during filming.

Knoxville released a statement discussing Steve-O and his past problems with alcohol.

"Steve-O's sobriety is at its best, and there is no beer on set this time around even if some of us wish there was," Knoxville said. "And to be honest, it's going great. Everyone has had different injuries throughout which is a good sign, and Steve-O is probably getting the best footage out of everybody. He is really going for it. He wants to prove to everyone he can do these stunts sober. It's been two years since he had a drink now. Everyone has been real supportive of him."

While the 3-D gimmicks are hit and miss, the attempts at creatively implementing the technology are well received. There are multiple slow-motion scenes achieved using Phantom high speed cameras that shoot at 1,000 frames per second. Director Jeff Tremaine also successfully employs the old-school 3-D tactic of objects popping out at viewers, albeit in an inappropriate fashion.

"Jackass 3-D" marked the 10th anniversary of the franchise with its third-straight No. 1 opening. It broke the record for an October release by grossing $50 million, a number inflated by the higher ticket cost for 3-D films.

With a production budget of only $20 million, "Jackass 3-D," much like all reality TV shows, has proven to be relatively cheap to produce and highly lucrative. One can only hope MTV doesn't get greedy and start adapting other reality shows such as "Jersey Shore" or "16 and Pregnant" into feature films. The big screen would not be flattering to Snooki and the gang.

You get exactly what you expect from "Jackass 3-D," which means 90 minutes of cringing, testing your gag reflex and laughing hysterically.