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Why I loved Jackass: The Movie

By Gayle Snible

Jackass: The Movie grossed $22.7 million in its opening weekend. I waited a couple of weekends to see it, and my anticipation was rewarded. Jackass rocked!

I'm a thirty-five year old overweight intellectual woman who wears glasses, lives in New York, and works in the music industry, so liking Jackass: The Movie is probably not one of the things you'd expect.

Whatçs more, I couldn't stand the MTV show Jackass, couldn't even make it through an episode without changing the channel. The show was childish, immature, and stupidÊbeneath my socioeconomic status, intelligence, and life philosophy. But when I heard the movie was on its way, I knew that I'd see it, drawn to it like a rubbernecking tourist watching a street performer in Times Square.

Sometimes we all wonder what something out of the ordinary would feel like. How it would feel to bungee jump off of a bridge, drive a racecar, put your arm through a glass window? Okay, we wonder about some of these things. The Jackass crew actually answers these questions, and I've got to commend them for it. Before they filmed it, they had to plan it. Someone had to wonder: What would it feel like to have an alligator bite my tits, to have a tidal wave fall on top of me, to snort a couple of spoonfuls of wasabi sauce?

Another bonus is that the Jackass guys, Johnny Knoxville included, are pretty hot. Looking at Bam MargeraÊeven on celluloidÊmakes me feel like Mrs. Robinson. Watching the guys run around in g-strings is not only funny, it's sexy. When the camera pans to the men laughing hysterically during one of the stunts, it's fucking beautiful. It's funny, goddammit, and I don't care if the connoisseurs think it's lowbrow. The Jackass guys are more real to me than any character in a Reese Witherspoon or Julia Roberts movie. My joy was genuine, and my eyes watered from so much laughter.

Anal inserts aside, Jackass: The Movie is a great date movie for those who want laughter in their relationship. Not only do I recommend paying the $10 to see this movie on the big screen, but I'd recommend using it as a litmus test to figure out who you're going to spend time laughing with in the future. If you can't laugh with the Jackass guys, you're too uptight. Beware of the moving orange traffic cones.

Gayle Snible is a publicist and writer in New York City who doesn't get out to see enough movies. gayle@snible.org