Jackass: Number Two (2006)

Somehow, I should have known what to be in for from the television show and the first movie. I had seen clips on MTV about the making of the new movie, and had heard from friends about some of what to expect. My brother called me on New Year's Eve to tell me he had just finished watching and, in his words, that "it was insane."

I definitely should have been prepared for what I was about to see.

Ladies and gentlemen, I was not.

JACKASS: NUMBER TWO is more outrageous, more disgusting, and more, well gay, then you could ever imagine.

And that's a good thing.

Just when Johnny Knoxville has the chance to play it safe, continuing to do formula comedies (DUKES OF HAZZARD) and various independent projects (DALTRY CALHOUN), he goes and assembles the old team and in the process takes the basic JACKASS premise to the nth degree.

So what exactly are you in for? If you've seen the show or the first movie, you have a pretty good idea (although having seen both did not prepare me AT ALL for what I was about to witness). If you're new to the JACKASS world and would like a sneak peek, read on:

The first bit is called "The Puppet Show," and involves a snake, a mouse puppet, and Chris Pontius's, uh, let's just say member, to flesh out the puppet, so to speak. The rest involves the natural consequence of a mouse in a cage with a snake. I defy any man not to scream and clutch his junk for dear life.

The rest of the film follows a similar path. Every cast member gets a chance to scream, cry, and basically get subjected to punishments both cruel and hilarious, including Knoxville. Among the "crimes" against humanity:

Knoxville gets vertical with the help of a bull, attacked by an anaconda in a child's ball pit, blasted off on a rocket, and snagged by a wolf trap.

Steve-O runs a hook through his cheek and is used for bait for sharks, enjoys a refreshing beer enema, and has a leech stuck on his frikkin' eyeball. That's right: his eyeball.

Bam perhaps suffers more than anyone else, getting a certain pleasure device launched up his posterior (nice language), stuck in a cage with a cobra, shot with thousands of rubber balls, and branded with a fitting logo.

All this and horse masturbation, to boot.

Does any or all of this sound good to you? I suppose a case can be made for JACKASS's popularity being based on the rubbernecking principle found at the scenes of traffic accidents. But I think that takes away from the sense of prankster glee and delight you get every time you hear Knoxville's maniacal laugh, or the obvious comraderie and affection the entire group has for each other. Be prepared to laugh and cry at the same time.