Jackass: Best and Last – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Jackass: Best and Last – Shenanigans Among Misfits: Welcome to … The Finale   

The journey of our own life is a marker of many things.  From the heights of success to the unknown of new beginnings, challenges become a manner of how you take them.   For the path we move along, it becomes natural to stick with a group that provides the comradery that gives you a boost to keep going.  For film, that aspect of individual connection becomes a manner of whimsy, in a way that captures the moments … but also the memories.  In that unique creative space, the magic can always be something more.  In this review, I look at the latest hijinks from a loveable band of misfits.  Standing on the cusp of the end, Jackass: Best and Last is a journey that is much more than gags and crazed situations, it is the showcase that as things come and go … it is friendship that brings the heart of laughter.

In the final series of dangerous stunts and pranks, we head off with our famed lovable crew of misfits one last time.  Going into this film, there is a sense that at some point … these insane and sometimes vile like bits would come to an end.  No matter if it’s the age of our main cast (like Steve-O or Johnny Knoxville) or the redundancy of gags, situations become a matter of when that moment is not fun anymore.  That aspect of ‘jumping the shark’ is one that doesn’t come into the minds of the Jackass crew, and it certainly doesn’t happen in this fifth iteration.  With this latest entry, it is as you expect: A crazed introduction leading into a slue of over-the-top sequences that will either make you laugh hard or gag tremendously.  For all that might cross your mind as ‘been there/done that’ … this crew (you can view the rest of the members at the film’s IMDb page) always manage to inject some twist to stunts they perform.  These bits highlight two factors of what makes the Jackass series so special for many:

The Raw Creativity and the Unorthodox Brotherhood

As the crew is a mixture of old and new individuals, it is the cross generation that provides that ump that sparks interest in what happens, but also how the outcomes always seem to be outlandish but realistic to reactions.  Beyond the twist on what might seem obvious, the added element of this fifth entry feeling like the last one comes in the down moments of reflection and flashbacks. 

The ensuing nature of the present is complimented when the crew sit down and talk (documentary style) about favorite bits of the past, but also unaired material that was never ‘allowed’ to be used.  This adds another level of extreme-like mentality to the crew, but also the furthering of what it means to take risks.  These moments also add to the level of the brotherhood formed (over the years), marking what makes every situation (even gross) lovable and laughable.  As things wind through the past in the present, it becomes fitting to see how the juvenile-like mantra becomes a staple of what makes the totality of this experience wholesome.  The risks are insane, the situations are definitely out there … but you have a raw reaction to them, but also feel like this journey is one that you won’t forget.  As the film hits its climax, it becomes a great look back to everything that has happen … but also a send off that feels right for this crew.  Jackass: Best and Last is a crossroads that is part send-off / part reflection.  If you are a fan of this crew or want some brotherhood like mantra, you got it.  For me, it is an experience that won’t be forgotten.

Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)